Inner Demons
by illfate
Summary: A tortured soul escapes the confines of hell, and in an attempt to get revenge on Trigon seeks to kill Raven before she becomes his portal to Earth. But must decide wich is more important, revenge or the last shreds of his humanity. strong violence
1. Corruption

Disclaimer: I do not own The Teen Titans, Trigon, Or any character in this story except for the nameless demon that this particualr chapter is about.

A/N: This chapter dosn't really have much to do with the Teen Titans, It mainly explains the past of my (currently nameless) original character, and why exactly he wants to kill Raven.

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My village was in danger. Reports of the barbarians' advances was a daily occurrence. Town after town, fort after fort fell before them. The local priests told us to pray to god for protection. But that obviously wasn't working. I took it upon myself to save my village and end the senseless bloodshed. Late one night I snuck into the forbidden libraries of the church. There I found a large tome, the cover had no words, just a large symbol. It resembled an S with a dot to either side. The book described a ritual one could perform to be granted any desire. I took the book and performed this ritual in my basement. It worked…kind of.

A large vortex opened in front of me. Four red eyes appeared in the center of this vortex and in a deep booming voice said "Why have you disturbed me puny mortal?" My courage left me, and I felt cold. The four eyes continued to stare piercing my very soul. After a long period of silence I mustered enough courage to finally answer. "My village is in terrible danger, marauders are fast approaching and…" before I could finish the voice interrupted me with "and you wish me to save your village?" I nodded. "And what is it worth to you?" The voice asked. "Anything, just please save my village!" I pleaded. "Very well, your village will be spared, but your eternal soul now belongs to me." Before I could object the vortex vanished, leaving me feeling lightheaded and ill.

Upon further reading I had learned what I had done. This four eyed demon was named Trigon. He was the ruler of hell. He stole the souls of innocents, like myself, with bad bargains. Rarely did he ever live up to his side. Sure my village may be spared by the barbarians, but that doesn't mean it won't be destroyed by an enemy army marching through the area, or in a terrible storm. I felt so stupid, how could I do such a thing. And what would be waiting for me when I did die?

A week later I was killed when my pack mule got spooked and kicked me in the head on the way to the market. Now I suffer constant agony. Yes, my deal had saved my village from the barbarians, but doomed me to hell. I am trapped in a dark labyrinth, and hunted by ferocious beasts. I cannot accurately describe them because of the constant dark, but I can say they are big, fast, and very powerful. I am plagued by constant hunger, but when I find what little food is in the labyrinth it turns to smoldering ash as soon as I touch it. The beasts have killed me countless times. It seems that no matter where I go, I am tripping over my own mangled corpses or slipping on my own intestines. Sliding against an unseen wall I press forward. I will find the way out. It will take more than this to break me! …

After what seems like an eternity I have begun to notice changes in myself. I'm faster than I was before, I can actually get away from the beasts now. I also seemed to have developed a limited control of the dark energy that surrounds me. On more than one occasion I have formed a shield out of it that saved me from yet another gory death. I also seem to have developed the ability to sense things, I can't see in this darkness, nor can I hear anything beyond my own breathing and heart-beat, and yet, I know where the walls are. I know when there is another corridor, or when there is a rock that I my trip over. But most importantly I know when the beasts are near. What is it about this place that is changing me? And what will I become? …

My new abilities have allowed me to explore my prison, I am now able to venture far deeper into the winding passages, and deeper into the darkness. Every now and then I come across pillars of light that extend down from an unseen source. The lights promise warmth and safety, but I have learned one thing during my time here, there is no such thing as safe. I have yet to venture into one of the lights, but one of the creatures have. I was right, no sooner than it entered the light was it ripped apart by some unseen force. What other traps await me I wonder. …

It's cold, so…very…cold. Every breath I take stings as my lungs threaten to freeze. I'm shivering so badly I can barely walk. I clutch my arms against my chest tightly but still they are numb. I must press forward, there is a way out, there has to be. …

So hot…How can such heat exist in total darkness? My skin feels as though it is melting off. My feet stick to the hot stone ground I walk on. I think I actually prefer the cold. …

Claws? Since when do I have claws? I noticed them when I scratched at a festering wound on my back. It hurt so much I couldn't help but scream. I grope at my hands attempting to get some idea of the lethality of my claws. They seem to be growing where my normal nails were, though much harder, and much, much sharper. They are about as long as my thumb is wide. They could be very deadly if I used them right. Or they could just inflict immense pain. I sit down to feel my feet. As soon as my butt hits the floor pain shoots up my spine. I discover the reason being that I had grown a small tail and had sat on it in such a way that threatened to break it. With my tail out of the way I began to feel my feet. Indeed claws were protruding from them as well. Though they were twice as long as the ones on my hands as well as wickedly curved. So, I am now armed with 20 different daggers, as well as having a tail that exceptionally increases my balance. I felt a grin cross my face. Next time I run into one of those beasts I'll stand my ground. What's the worst that can happen? I get killed?

I have no idea how long I've been wandering, or how much I have changed. I have began forget what I used to be. Are these horns new? Its hard to remember why I'm even here. But still I persist, this maze has caused me far too much pain already. …

Finally, after countless decades of searching, I find the exit. I never expected a world of fire and brimstone to be so beautiful. I take this time to examine myself, now that I am illuminated by the surrounding fires. My legs are lean and strong. My feet look almost reptilian. I naturally stand on the balls of my feet as my ankles point downwards now. I have three large toes tipped with large, curved, razor sharp claws. I also notice large spurs on my heels. I can't imagine what I would use them for but for some reason am glad I have them. The skin on my torso seems tightly stretched over my muscles, though they are not large at all. My arms are long and muscular, though also seem somewhat thin. My tail has grown considerably since I discovered it. Now it is at least two inches longer than my legs, but thin, not really rat like, more like a hairless monkey tail. I smile in amusement as I realize it is prehensile and actually has an impressive grip as I squeeze my leg with it. I look over my shoulders and see large wings folded loosely against my back. Bringing them out to their full span they stretch over twice the length of my arms, and yet can be folded tightly against my back and be completely out of the way. Now that I have taken inventory of my new body what now?

Before I could decide what my next move would be I hear a woman scream. I take off as quickly and silently as I could toward the source. Landing quietly a good distance away from my destination I begin to silently run while at the same time crouching low to hide myself behind a rocky outcropping. When I finally find the source of the scream I witness a sight that reminds me of where I am, and who is responsible for my torture.

Before me was the very being that stole my soul and damned me to my suffering. Pinned under him was a human woman, struggling to free herself from his grasp. "What's wrong? Not what you expected?" his deep voice boomed as he thrust himself into her. I watched with growing disgust as he rapped the poor woman. Her screams of pain and fear were the worst sounds I ever heard. Worse even than the sounds of my skull being crushed between the jaws of one of the beasts and the wet sloppy plop as my brains hit the floor.

My blood began to boil as he dug his clawed fingers into her wrists sending streams of crimson rolling down her arms. I closed my eyes and tried to reach her with my mind. Considering everything else I'm capable of now, why not. Oddly enough, I succeeded. Instead of easing her pain as I had planned, I fed off it. The many wounds I sustained in the labyrinth began to heal. My hunger subsided. My thirst was quenched. I began to hate myself. What am I? How could I do such a thing? Why do I like it?

The rape continued, as did my feeding. He did horrible things to her, and by doing so made me stronger. I could feel my power growing. The more she hurt the better I felt. I lost myself. Her pain put me in a state of nirvana. I was almost sad when it ended. A final thrust, followed by a grunt and he was done. I felt dirty, rancid, and disgusting. I deserved to be here. All those brutal murders I suffered, all the broken bones, the millennia of suffering, all of it was now completely justified.

I stood up, revealing my position, I expected punishment. Instead, Trigon just ignored me. He opened a portal and threw her naked body through. "Bring me more!" he instructed before closing the portal and walking away. Never before had I felt such hate, for both myself and him. He made me into a monster, and I would repay him by destroying him…but how? …

I stalked him for a long time. Watched as he received new victims. Watched as he received news of their suicide. I watched as he made deals for the souls of fools like myself. Watched as he didn't live up to his end of the bargain. I don't know why he didn't notice me. Maybe he did. Maybe he didn't care. Maybe he didn't see me as a threat. That would be his biggest mistake. …

News finally came to him of the woman I had first witnessed him with. She had given birth to a daughter. This news pleased Trigon greatly. "Where is she?" he asked. For some reason he sounded hungry. "She is with her mother in Azarath, my lord." The impish demon answered. Trigon smiled, his vicious teeth sent shivers down my spine. "Azarath, a bunch of pacifists and cowards. It will be quite refreshing to destroy them." He said before bursting with maniacal laughter.

To my understanding, the living are able to cross the dimensions because they are both ethereal, and physical at the same time. Able to exist in the dimensions of the soul, as well as those of the body. But how can a creature such as Trigon, who had never been a physical entity, be able to traverse the gaps between such dimensions?

I got my answer about 16 years later. His daughter apparently acted as a portal, a link, between him and the physical realm of the living. She let him into Azarath, but by doing so let me into Azarath as well. I followed him through the portal that she created. I intended to kill his daughter, thus breaking his link to the realm of the living while at the same time ensuring that he cannot enter any other physical dimensions. But before I got the chance she was sent through a portal by her mother. All of the anger I felt at loosing my chance for revenge faded as I looked into her eyes. "You'll not give her to your master demon!" she shouted at me. Her voice carried much strength and determination. As well as something else…I can't quite put my finger on it, it is something I had been missing for so long. "I had no intention of bringing her to Trigon," I state simply, "I was going to kill her and save you all."

She looked rather shocked at my response. She was even more shocked when I didn't strike her down where she stood for denying me my prize. "She doesn't deserve death." She said after a period of silence. I find it odd how she can be so calm when her home and friends are being destroyed by a massive demon, and even odder how she doesn't blame the one who brought him to this world. The memory of her rape suddenly forced its way to the surface of my mind. "I'm sorry." I said as I lowered my head. "For what?" she asked raising an eyebrow in confusion. "When you were…by Trigon…I…I was there," I began to explain, but it was difficult to find the words.

"I…watched…and…I fed…"

"you fed off my rape?"

"Off the pain you suffered during it." I clarified.

I expected her to hate me, to condemn me for my actions. But instead she forgave me by saying, "You have been in hell for well over a thousand years by the looks of you. I was in hell for little over twenty minutes. You seem to be a good person who is withstanding the corruption of that place extraordinarily well." She placed her hand on the side of my face making me look her in the eyes before continuing, "I am glad that my presence was able to lessen your suffering." We continued to talk as Trigon killed everyone. With his daughter gone there was nothing I could do to stop him, but at least I could comfort one of the people within the city. I still don't know why she was spared from his wrath, but I am glad she was.

A few years have passed since the invasion of Azarath. Again I am in hell stalking the all powerful Trigon. I then hear something very interesting. He plans to send what he called "a herald" to ensure that all was ready for his invasion of Earth. The cult that worshiped him was going to sacrifice an innocent to bring forth the herald and give him life. If I took the place of this herald, I could find his daughter and kill her before anymore damage is done. It seemed so perfect, and was actually easier than I thought to accomplish. …

The demon chosen to be Trigon's herald stood in a circle of salt awaiting the sacrifice's life to be taken and thus opening the portal between the realms. I quietly snuck up behind him. Before he could react I ripped out his spine and threw him out of the circle without disturbing a single grain of salt. My timing was perfect, no sooner than he left the circle did a bright light surround me. When it faded I was surrounded by clocked figures, a bloody man lay on a table in front of me, his heart cut from his body. "Welcome, herald of Trigon!" exclaimed a figure in a particularly intricate robe. A smile crossed my face, not only had I escaped the labyrinth, but hell itself. And now to put an end to this foolish cult.

There were six of them in all. Five position at each point of a pentagram on the floor, and the apparent leader that stands in front of me in the center. I lunged forward and in one swift move snatched the ceremonial dagger from the leader's hand and slit his throat with it. I threw the bloody dagger to my right as I turned left. It buried itself up to the hilt in another cultist's head. Before my next target could react I grabbed him by the neck and lifted him off his feet. I then stuck my freehand into his chest cavity. I wrapped my fingers around his bronchial tubes and with one jerk, ripped both lungs from his body, then dropped him to the ground where he lay writhing in pain as he suffocates.

By now they realized I was not exactly what they ordered. But there was nothing they could do. I slaughtered them all one by one. When I finished strangling the last one I looked at what I had done. It was a scene of carnage worthy of a demon. Now, to find Trigon's daughter. I pried the thick tome from the fingers of the cult leader's dead hand. I instantly recognized it. It was the same one I had used all those centuries ago. I flipped through the pages searching for any clue to the whereabouts of his offspring. I found a list of names, all female. I assumed they were the names of Trigon's rape victims. Most of the names were crossed out with what looked like blood. Those would be the ones who killed themselves I figured. I finally found one that wasn't crossed out. Angela Roth, the line below her name read: Daughter, Raven Roth AKA Rachael. In the margin was a hand written note that read: Currently a member of the Teen Titans. Ok, I know her affiliation. Before leaving I glanced down at myself and noticed my distinct lack of clothing. "Need some pants." I said to myself as I looked around. I stripped the leader and dressed myself in his cloths save the robe. I had no interest in appearing to be one of Trigon's worshipers. Now to find this "Raven" and kill her.

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A/N: ok, first chapter of first fic finished. I know this chapter jumps around a bit, like undated entries in a journal. I was trying to destroy your perception of time, but still give you a feeling of what my original character had to suffer through. Please leave a review I want to know what you think, both about my style and my character.

Do you hate him? love him? feel sorry for him?


	2. A Demon's Wrath

Demon's POV

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I walked out of the large open building, leaving behind a rather bloody mess. Looking around I was amazed at the decrepit state this particular part of the city was in. Half of the buildings didn't even have a roof over them. Every window was broken, the ground was littered with all manner of trash and debris. "This place would be scary in the daytime." I said quietly to myself. I assumed the large open buildings around me were meant for storage, but it didn't appear that any of them had seen any use for a long, long time. Aside from the one I just left of course.

I started to walk down the alley between two warehouses toward what looked like a road. I stuck to the shadows, even though there wasn't anybody around. Last thing I wanted was to be caught off guard. Upon reaching the road I noticed something strange about it. It wasn't dirt, gravel, or grass. It was hard and black, a substance I had never seen before. This observation prompted more. The buildings weren't made of wood, or stone. Rather metal, glass, and…something else. I forced such thoughts out of my head. It's been at least a thousand years since my death, did I expect everything to be the same?

I continued down the street, avoiding the light from the flameless lamps lining the road. Shortly after leaving the warehouses I was surprised by a strange noise. It sounded like a loud squeal, but not like any animal I have ever encountered. This was shortly followed by what sounded like small explosions and a terrible wailing sound. I ducked behind a large metal box just in time to see two vehicles pass. There was a man leaning out the side of the one in front and pointing something at the second, which had bright blue and red lights flashing on its top. A series of explosions erupted from the tip of whatever it was the man was holding.

As soon as they turned a corner I stood and ripped off the shirt I had taken off the cult leader. I spread my wings and took flight. The wailing and flashing lights made the two vehicles very easy to follow from the air. I followed them until the first vehicle stopped in front of a nice warehouse, when compared to the surroundings of course. Two men exited the vehicle and ran inside. Two men the exited from the flashing one. As soon as they did a rapid series of small explosions issued forth from the warehouse windows and broken sections of wall.

One of the men from the flashing car was instantly killed, the other seemed to be hit in the arm before taking cover behind the vehicle. I heard him screaming "Need backup! Officer down! Repeat, officer down! Send backup!" Seeing as how there was nobody else in the area I decided I might as well help. I landed silently on the roof of the occupied warehouse and quietly snuck to a rather large hole. I lowered my head down and examined the inside of the warehouse.

There were ten men all pressed against the far wall firing pretty randomly at the lone "officer". There were countless boxes stacked up around the warehouse, as well as some furniture haphazardly placed near the center. I grabbed the edge of the hole and did a sort of flip into the warehouse landing in a crouched position with my back to the men firing at the officer. I turned and crept towards them, staying low to reduce my visibility.

One of the men who was firing out a hole in the wall to the far left of the group turned and leaned against the wall. He ejected a rectangular object from the bottom of weapon before jamming another one in its place. He looked up from his task in time to see my approach. He only had time to say "What…" before my claws were in his throat. But the damage had been done.

Everyone in the warehouse turned and fired on me. I positioned the dying man between me and his friends. His body convulsed as he was hit by many small projectiles. Using my dark energy I brought his weapon to my hand from where he had dropped it. I then threw him toward his friends and dove behind a stack of crates for cover. I had no idea how to use the weapon in my hand.

It didn't take me long to figure it out though. As soon as I did I began to return fire on my attackers. I hit one in the leg, one in the stomach, and one in the head before running out of ammo. Now that there was sufficient pain in the room I began to feed as I rushed forward from behind my cover. I was hit multiple times before I made it to the nearest opponent, but due to the feeding, it didn't matter. I healed almost instantly.

I grabbed the panic stricken man by the collar of his shirt and lifted him off the ground. Focusing my powers I formed a blade of dark energy from my right palm. I proceeded to cut the man in half. "What the fuck is this thing!?" the one I hit in the leg shouted as he attempted to crawl away. I then realized that I was currently between the group of, now terrified men, and the door. This was good, there is no escape for them.

I rushed the crawling man and grabbed his ankle. I then spun around and flung his useless body at another who was attempting to run and shoot at the same time. The result was him killing his airborne comrade before being knocked to the ground by his dead body. I leapt through the air landing on his chest just as he managed to push his friend off of him. My landing knocked the wind out of him leaving him entirely at my mercy…to bad I am a bit lacking in mercy at the moment. I grabbed his right wrist and forced his weapon from his hand. I then ripped off his arm and beat him to death with it.

The rest of the men made a run for it now that I was no longer blocking the door. I took off after them, cutting them down with my dark blade when they were close enough. Despite my speed three of the five remaining men made it out of the warehouse. As soon as they were outside they spread out, all firing at the door. One went to the right, the other two went to the left. I ran straight to the vehicle without the flashing lights on top and grabbed it. With a grunt and considerable effort I flung it at the lone man running to my right. It struck him in the torso and carried him another ten feet before landing on top of him and rolling off. I doubted that I could have survived that.

I took off after the other two before they got away. When I was about ten feet from the nearest I leapt forward and dug my claws into either side of his spine and let my full weight fall. The result was my claws ripping out large chunks of flesh as they descended his body. He fell to the ground unable to move. He wasn't dead, but he would be soon. I left him where he lay and continued to chase the other one.

Again when I had closed in enough I leaped at him, but this time I dug the claws of my toes into his flesh just above his pelvis as I grabbed him by the shoulders. I ripped out a large chunk of his throat with my sharp teeth as he fell. I pulled my claws from his body and stood next to him spitting out the meat in my mouth. I was gone long before the officer's help ever arrived.

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Raven's POV

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I was hovering in the corner of the living room reading silently. Robin sat on the couch idly flipping channels. He stopped suddenly on the news. I glanced up from my book to look at the screen. There was a pale police officer in an arm splint looking nervously from side to side. The look on his face alone was enough to catch my interest.

He began to describe the events of last night. I returned my attention to my book until I heard the term "demon". My attention once again snapped to the TV. The reporter next to him asked, "Did you just say…demon?" she looked rather skeptical.

"Yeah…I mean…I don't know what it was." The officer continued. "One minute I was being shot at, the next, I wasn't. Then after a lot of shooting and screaming from inside the warehouse three of the perps came running out shooting at something inside." The officer swallowed hard as he tried to find the words to continue. "It picked up their car and threw it at one of them, just tossed it like…like a piece of wood or something, then it ripped the other two apart then just flew away."

I glanced over at Robin at the exact same moment he looked at me. "What do you think it was?" he asked. Before I could answer the anchor woman continued with, "The police suspect this incident to be connected with another mass murder that took place in the same area. The police describe the scene as a blood bath. They suspect the victims to be members of cult due to their clothing as well as many artifacts found at the scene. Though no comment has been made about the cult itself. No names have been released.…"

Again we looked at each other. "Well, I'm looking forward to the next few days." I said sarcastically. About three seconds later the alarm sounded. The others ran into the room all apparently torn from other activities. Starfire was clutching silky, Cyborg was covered in grease, and Beastboy had toilet paper stuck to his shoe. "What's up?" Beastboy asked while adjusting his pants. "Trouble" Robin answered. The TV switched to a map of the city showing the symbol representing Plasmus near the sewage treatment plant. "Ahhh man, I hate getting all slimey." Beastboy complained after realizing what was in store for us.

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A/N: This chapter ends a bit too early for my tastes, but I said what I wanted to, and this seems like a good stoping point.

The major purpose of this chapter is to explain the Demon's brutality in combat, as well as his skewed sense of heroic behavior. He kills, but not without reason, may not be a good reason, but still its not just pointless slaughter.

So...what do you think so far?

Just a little something to keep you interested, Next chapter the Demon and the Titens meet


	3. Enemy of My Enemy

Demon's POV

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I sat cross legged behind a large trash container in an alley, trying to figure out how to locate the "Teen Titans". My thoughts were interrupted by a large explosion. Needless to say I went to investigate. I flew pretty high to avoid being seen by anybody. I could see a column of smoke rising to my right, but a glint of light made me look left instead. There, in the middle of the bay was a huge 'T' built on a tiny island. "It can't be that simple." I say to myself as I turn towards the smoke.

I landed in the bushes behind an odd looking, and even odder smelling building. There were pipes everywhere. Some leading from the main structure to huge vats. Some from the vats to the ground. I moved as silently as I could thru the foliage until I could see the source of the commotion.

Whatever it was, it was hideous. It seemed to be made up entirely of sludge. I couldn't tell if the large round bubbles on its head and back were eyes or just goo sacks. Somehow I didn't think ripping at it with claws was going to help. My thought process was interrupted by someone shouting, "Titans, Go!".

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Raven's POV

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We arrived just in time to see Plasmas rupture a pipe and begin feeding off the toxic sludge inside. Every time we fight this guy makes me want to puke. Before his cycle even came to a stop Robin shouted his battle cry, "Titans, Go!"

I focused my energy on closing the ruptured pipes, cutting of his food supply. Robin tossed some ice pellets to get his attention. Plasmas soon broke free from his entrapment, sending shards of ice in every direction. I could have sworn I heard a voice whisper "Shit… that hurt."

Beastboy's exclamation of "EEEEEwwwww!" brought me back to the task at hand. Beastboy had been glued to the ground with mucus. Robin and Starfire attacked simultaneously, actually managing to stun him. I chant my mantra, "Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos!" and send a large truck flying at Plasmas. The truck collided with his central mass sending him flailing thru the air.

The truck landed on top of him sending slime gushing from under its weight before rolling down the hill. In the crater left by impact lay Plasmas' human form, but he quickly regained consciousness and returned to his oozing state. Instead of attacking me he seemed to attack the bushes near me.

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Demon's POV

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I leapt into the air doing a backward summersault to avoid the massive slime ball. "Shit!" I said as I stood from my crouched position. "I was hoping for the element of surprise." Before anybody around me could attack I lunged forward at the sludge monster. Honestly, I had no idea what I was going to do to bring it down, but I was hoping the Titans believed that old saying 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend.'

The creature swung it arm in a wide arch, flinging multiple balls of goo in the process. I zigzagged to avoid being hit. I slashed at it with a dark blade as I passed. Just as I thought it had no real effect besides pissing him off. I stayed close to it, dodging its swipes and counter attacking with swipes of my own. I was quickly getting tired as there was nothing injured around me to feed off of.

I leapt backwards and looked at the super powered teens who were just staring at the battle in progress. "What the hell are you waiting for? An invitation?" I asked annoyed at their inaction. The distraction resulted in me being hit by a massive goober and stuck to the ground. "Man, this stuff is rank!" I said as the smell wafted into my nostrils. "Tell me about it." The green kid said still trying to free himself from a similar situation.

I focused for a moment summoning a flurry of dark energy around me, cutting myself free. I rushed to aid the green one as the others distracted it. I pulled him from the ground as I cut the slime away. When he was on his feet again I asked, "So…how the hell do we stop it?" He answered with "We have to knock him out." "Oh, is that all?" I asked sarcastically.

We both rushed the fiend at the same time. The green kid transformed into a huge creature with two horns on its face. He plowed thru the sludge sending large globs of slime in every direction. Before it was able to pull itself back together I jumped and slashed the central mass in half. As soon as I landed behind it I attacked again. My plan was to keep dividing it into smaller and smaller pieces until it expended all its energy trying to pull itself together and could no longer continue to function.

Every one of my attacks was preceded by the green creature charging thru the largest mass and followed by a hail of green fire from the red haired girl. Everyone seemed to be doing something to keep the pieces from flowing back together. It wasn't long until the separate pieces began to move lethargically. We continued our assault on the gelatinous being until the globs seemed to melt into the ground. Laying in the center of a large puddle formed by the largest mass of goo lay a half naked man, breathing heavily.

"Well, that was fun." I said as I scraped green goo off my arms and chest. "That was pretty impressive." Said the spiky haired kid in the cape. "I do my best." I responded with a shrug and a fake grin. "You wouldn't happen to be the 'Demon' from the news would you?" He said straitening his posture and crossing his arms in front of his chest. "That depends, was this 'Demon' described as the devilishly handsome savior of a lone, outnumbered officer?" I said in a rather smart assed manner, running my fingers thru my hair emphasizing the word handsome. "Not exactly, more of a mass murderer who ripped apart helpless men as they ran for their lives." He said, his eyes narrowing and voice becoming cold.

I shrugged saying, "Two sides to every coin I guess." He didn't seem to like my response. "Why are you here?" he asked, determined to ruin my mood. I smirked at the question. He most likely wouldn't believe me, but he did ask. "To save the world." I answered. Before they had a chance to process what I had said I launched my attack. I assumed that the pale girl in the cloak was Raven. The red haired girl didn't seem nearly dark enough to be Trigon's dughter.

Raven seemed to be the only one not caught off guard by my sudden assault. As I pulled back to strike she sank into the ground. I quickly caught my balance and stopped. I turned around just in time to see a world of pain approaching.

Multiple fireballs exploded on my face and chest. As I raised my arms to shield myself from the volley of green energy I was hit in the stomach by a large blue beam fired from the mechanical man's arm. The force of the blast sent me flying backwards. I righted myself mid trip with my wings and landed in a crouched position, sliding backwards. Before I could launch myself forward a series of explosions erupted from the ground around me. It was so cold.

As the smoke clears from around my icy entrapment I could see an insanely large two legged lizard with incredibly large teeth charging in my direction. As its head collided with my chest I was sent flying yet again, this time much farther. My back struck a large pipe sticking straight up out of the ground. Before I had a chance to fall, dark energy surrounded the pipe, wrapping it around me.

"So…" I said looking at the group as they approached, "This is what an ass kicking feels like." The green boy started laughing uncontrollably. At least one person appreciates my jokes. "Why did you attack us?" The caped kid said, anger present in his voice. "To be fair, I only attacked one of you." I clarified. "Then why did you attack Raven!" He shouted, all patience for my comments long gone. I glanced at her, she seemed scared of what I was going to say. "Because of who she is…and what she's going to do…" I would have said more but as those words left my lips something large struck me in the back of the head knocking me unconscious.

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A/N: This one took me longer to write than I expected. I hope it is suitable. This is a somewhat important chapter, though it is short. The Titan's now know their enemy, and the Demon now knows he isn't the suprime bad ass he thought he was.


	4. Rise from your grave

Raven's POV

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I released my power and let the cinderblock fall to the ground with a thud. The others stared at me. "What?" I asked. Their stares persisted, so I offered some sort of explanation. "It wouldn't have taken him long to figure out how to escape." It wasn't entirely a lie, but actually had nothing to do with why I knocked him out. I was going to keep my secret for as long as I could. Besides, it might not even happen.

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Demon's POV

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I awoke in a small, dim room. At least I thought it was a room at first. Looking around I noticed that I was bound in strange chains. Sitting next to me was a man wearing very strange armor, I couldn't see his face because of the helmet he wore. He had a large weapon in his hands, similar to the ones those guys in the warehouse used. Across from me was that sludge monster's human form encased in a clear cylinder. I felt the sensation of movement, though my eyes detected none. This made me slightly sick to my stomach.

I looked at the armed man next to me and asked, "Where am I?", "On your way to prison." He answered rather sourly. "Oh, so I'm going to be stuck in a small, cold, damp cell having to fight hordes of rats for the scraps of food not fit for a fly that will probably give me dysentery anyway?" I said in a somewhat cheerful voice. The armored guy laughed. "So you've been before?" "No, but it sounds nice." Again the man next to me chuckled.

The ride continued mostly in silence. I was subtly trying to figure out how to escape from my chains. I placed my thumb over what seemed to be a locking mechanism. I then focused my energy sending a small spike of energy into the lock. I felt as well as heard the pins inside snapping. Just as I had hoped the restraints popped off. "Oh shit!" the guard next to me yelled in surprise as he attempted to ready his weapon. Before He had a chance to fire I lunged at him. My momentum carried both of us thru the doors on the back of the vehicle. He was knocked unconscious when he landed head first on the hard ground. Good thing he was wearing a helmet.

I took flight, there must be somewhere I can use as a base, I kind of needed to lie low for a while. After considerable searching I found the perfect place. It was in ruins, as was all the places I looked, but there was something special here. It was basically built in a hole in the ground. The whole place was littered with twisted metal, most of which looks like it had melted and cooled many months ago. The ground was very uneven. Large rock walls jutted up from the floor forming countless nooks and crannies that I could hide in should someone find this place. The most intriguing thing about this place was the statue of a young woman near the center. Below it was a plaque that read TERRA: A Teen Titan, And A Friend.

I couldn't put my finger on it, but something about the statue just didn't seem right. Whoever made it did an extraordinary job, it seemed…alive. So much so that I couldn't resist the urge to listen for a heartbeat. I pressed my ear against the cold stone chest of the statue. At first I didn't hear anything, as I had expected. But I kept listening. For about five minutes I listened, then I heard something. _Thump-bump, _"No way." I said as I pulled my head away in surprise. I listened again. Ten minutes later, _Thump-bump_. Again I pulled away. There is definitely a heartbeat, just a very, very, very slow one.

I reached out with my mind, hoping to form some basis of communication with her. I found her mind, it was in a lot of pain, mostly guilt. I had to stop myself from feeding on her mental anguish, and instead tried to speak with her. "Can you hear me? Can you answer?" I asked, sending the words across our, rather weak, mental link. I sensed a change in her mind, but could hear no response. I did everything I could think of to strengthen our link. "Can you hear me?" I repeated my question to her mind. I could hear her answer this time, "Yes! I hear you!" the voice in my head was practically shouting, but it sounded joyful and exited. How long has she been here?

"Can you get me out?" She pleaded. My heart sank as I realized I had no idea how. "Not at the moment." I answered, "But I will find a way." I promised. After a period of silence she said "Tell the Titans that I'm sorry." I broke our link, I could think of nothing else to say to the poor girl. I subconsciously began feeding on her mental anguish. I found it strengthened my powers, leaving me felling charged and energetic. It felt radically different than when I fed off the men in the warehouse. Realization slowly set in, physical pain heals my wounds, mental pain strengthens my powers. The rapid increase in energy made me feel restless, I had to go work off some of this excess energy. I left the relative safety of my new lair to find something worthy of my time.

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Raven's POV

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I was meditating on the roof while the others went out for pizza. I found the soft glow of sunset to be rather relaxing. The events of the day, and what the demon had said was starting to get to me. Was it really after me because of my father? Did it really know what I will be forced to do? Once within my mind I quickly found the emotions that had been agitated by the demon. Fear, Sorrow, and Logic. I then had a nice little chat with my emotions.

"He's going to kill us." Fear said quietly. "No he's not, we kicked his butt before we can do it again." I tried to reassure her, I remembered the last time I ignored fear, I lost my powers. "Not necessarily," Logic began, "He lost the element of surprise, and underestimated the Titan's. He won't make those mistakes again." Before I could respond Sorrow spoke up. "We're going to lose all our friends. They are already questioning our motives." I sighed before continuing, "look, I admit smashing him in the head wasn't the best course of action, but it would be a lot worse if they heard what he had to say." "How could it get worse!?" She whined, "Tomorrow is your birthday! That's when it begins!"

Logic got a sudden look of surprise on her face. I must have had an idea. "Should you be on the roof?" She asked. This caused fear to begin looking around frantically as she realized what logic was suggesting. "He's in jail right now." I began. "You sure?" Fear interrupted. "Yes!" I practically shouted causing Fear to hide behind her cloak.

"You honestly believe that he wouldn't be able to overpower the one guard in the back of that van?" Logic argued. Fear began whimpering behind her cloak. "You're not helping!" I shouted at Logic. As I did I heard the rattle of chains from the place in my mind inhabited by rage. Before things could get any more out of control I sensed someone approaching. I instinctively lashed out with my powers trapping whoever it was in a claw of dark energy. It took a few seconds for me to return from my own mind. When I did I saw that I had Robin pinned against the door to the stairs. I released my power letting him fall. I ran over to help him to his feet. "Sorry." I apologized as I helped him up. "That…thing we fought today made me jumpy." I explained.

"Relax, He's in prison right now." He offered. "I don't believe that, and neither do you." I said depressingly. Robin just sighed. "Well, pizzas here." He said opening the door he was previously pinned against. I followed him down to the kitchen where the others were already stuffing their faces. I grabbed a slice, food might help calm my nerves.

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Demon's POV

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The sunset was pretty. I watched it as I dangled a guy I found robbing an old lady over a guard rail on one of those really tall buildings. He was currently fearing death, and thus, was mentally anguished. I guess you could call me glutton, I didn't let him go until after he passed out due to blood pooling in the head. I stood up just as the darkness of night set in. I was wired.

I was combing a derelict portion of the city when I heard chanting from an ancient looking library. Inside I found that symbol, The mark of Skath, I knew it meant Trigon. Upon investigation I found a secret door. I followed the passage behind it. It led to a large pit with stairs carved along its edges that spiraled downwards into a dark void. _Gee, I wonder what's down there_, I thought to myself.

I decided to skip the part where I run down countless stairs, so I jumped into the center of the room instead. As I fell the darkness became more absolute. When I was blinded the darkness another sense activated. It was kind of closing one set of eyes and opening another. This other pair of eyes didn't sense light, but…for lack of a better word, magic. I was surrounded by it, swirling up the walls of the pit. I fell past the source, It was pouring out of a small doorway that had the symbol of Skath above it. I flew back up to it and followed the passage behind it.

The door lead me to a three way fork. I continued to follow the flow of energy down the middle path. The room at the end had a fire in it. As the light reached my eyes my magic sense dissipated. I quickly ran to the nearest shadow, padding each step with a cloud of dark energy making the trip completely silent. After reaching the safety of darkness I took in my surroundings.

The room looked similar to a closed stadium. A high balcony above an open courtyard beneath a stone dome ceiling. Huge statues were carved into the pillars supporting the ceiling. They looked just like Raven. In the center was A huge hand jutting straight out of the ground, palm upwards toward the ceiling, fingers slightly curled forming a sort of cup. A pillar of light came down from the center of the ceiling and falling on the palm of the hand. A large circle of those cult members were formed around the base chanting something.

A small muffled whimper drew my attention from the cult. Just behind the leader of this get together, or at least the guy with the fanciest robes. Was a young woman laying in the center of a large symbol I didn't recognize. She was bound and gagged. Just as I realized what I was witnessing the leader turned to her holding a large, ornate dagger. "This life for yours!" He shouted thrusting the knife downward as I rushed from my hiding pace. The knife pierced her heart as my claws pierced his face.

Every eye in the room was on me before I could even finish ripping it off. As he fell screaming to the floor I was blinded by a bright flash. When my vision returned I saw a tall, oddly clothed man standing in the middle of the palm. The most interesting thing about his appearance was his face. Half of it looked like a copper plate, the other was just black. Below him the cult was gathered attempting to look menacing. I looked to the man on the hand and said, "You mind if I take out these cult guys before we fight?" He leaned against a finger and with a wave of his hand said, "Go ahead."

I slaughtered most of them in a horridly gruesome fashion. I left three of them alive suffering severe lacerations, I'd need the healings. I walked back into the center of the room when I finished with the last one, covered head to toe in blood. "Alright, you ready?" I asked as I popped various joints around my body preparing myself for combat. "Well, that was…messy." He commented. We dropped the pleasantries and got right to it.

We lunged at each other. As I drove my hand forward, charging it with dark energy. Before my attack connected, I was hit in the face by a torrent of flame. I shielded myself almost instantly. The force of the flames drove me back against a wall. After it stopped I lowered my shield. My skin was still melting off. He just stared as I fed from the three wounded cult members. He allowed me to fully regenerate myself before continuing. "Hmm… Imagine that." Was all he said. Then I attacked again. Again he tried to hit me with the hell fire but I rolled to the right to avoid it. As soon as my feet touched the floor again I pushed off, jumping forward. I drove both sets of claws into his ribcage. My momentum sent us both into the air.

As we rose I formed dark blades in my palms and pushed them into his torso. I pulled both my arms back as hard as I could ripping his torso in half. But there was no blood, no gore, just bones. His costume repaired itself just like my skin did. He got up cracking his neck at very unnatural angles. "Well, this is interesting." We both said at the same time. The battle progressed in rounds. I was winning the vast majority of them, he was obviously tiring. But then my damn pain producers died on me.

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A/N: Sorry about the wait, had a case of writers block.

Alright, seriously, 4 chapters, 1 reveiw...come on people.


	5. Healing Wounds

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Raven's POV

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After eating we were all gathered in living room. Again the news seemed dominated by the Demon. They had found a man splattered on the pavement. They ruled out suicide because of the large gashes on his ankle, undoubtedly caused by claws digging into his flesh as he struggled to escape. I was hoping that a non-Demon related crime would happen tonight to distract me from my fears and insecurities.

I got my wish. There was a bright flash of light from an old power plant across the bay from Titan's Tower. When we got there we found Dr. Light. "Next time you decide to steal something, pick a target we can't see from our living room." I said as we neared. He looked at me, then at the tower, then back at me. "Oh….well no matter." He said as he began throwing balls of light at us.

The fight was short and pointless. I didn't even have to use my powers. I loomed over him looking as evil as I possibly could, allowing dark tendrils to flow from under my cloak. "Remember me?" I asked, reminding him of our last encounter. He remembered what my rage had done to him and he immediately surrendered.

"Alright! The butt kickin is done and its almost midnight! Time for doughnuts!" Cyborg exclaimed. "See you back at the tower." I responded turning away from the group. "You will not feast on the nuts of dough with us? It is like eating delicious little wheels!" Starfire pleaded joyfully. "I just want to get home before tomorrow comes." I responded before drifting back to the tower. I heard Beastboy mutter "Dude, what's so special about tomorrow?" As soon as I got back to the tower I went straight to my room.

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Demon's POV

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I was pinned down by a torrent of flames. The temperature inside my protective bubble was rapidly increasing. I focused all of the energy I could muster, and forced my shield of energy forward toward my enemy. I quickly ran to the right, heading for the door. Just before I reached it a wall of fire rose in front of it. "Now where do you think your going?" Asked the guy with the copper face plate. I didn't give him the chance to attack again, my energy was spent, and my injuries were taking their toll. I had to escape. I dove through the flames, singeing my flesh as I did.

I ran to the large spiraled staircase and leapt into the pit. Using my wings I guided myself to the ledge one story below the chamber I just left. Once there I pressed myself against the cold stone wall doing my best to disappear in the darkness. I watched as he climbed the seemingly endless stairs leading back to the library. Once he was out of sight I returned to the chamber our battle had occurred in.

I don't know what I was looking for. But I do know what I found. The cult leader wasn't dead, just unconscious. I placed my hand over his skinless face and applied pressure sending new waves of pain through his body. After healing my wounds and recharging my energy I tried something new. I focused my energy into my palm currently pressed against the bare muscles of his face. Instead of forming a blade to finish him off, I siphoned the healing energy of his pain back into himself. When his face was fully healed I began my questions.

"Who the hell was that?" I asked baring my sharp teeth to get my point across. "Do what you will to me, I'll never help you." He said as he spit in my face. I ripped off his face again. When he finished screaming I healed him again. "Let's try that again shall we." I said with a wicked grin crossing my face. "Okay, okay, His name is Slade. He is to be Trigon's herald now that his other one had failed." He said finally realizing the sheer amount of pain I can inflict without actually killing.

"What's he got to do to prepare for Trigon's coming?" I asked thinking of what I would do if he wasn't forthcoming with the information. "He must ensure that Trigon's gem is prepared for the summoning by inscribing the sacred runes upon it." He began. I saw through the metaphor easily, this Gem is obviously his daughter, Raven. "He must then…" I cut him off with, "you know what, I think I got what I needed." With that I ripped off the skin off his torso and threw him face down into the dust. His screams echoed throughout the winding complex. I only let him suffer for a few more seconds before stomping on his head sending gore and brain matter in all directions. I hate these cultists.

After I was done torturing the cultist I left the old library and returned to the lair I found. Terra's anguish quickly revitalized me. When I felt energized again I reestablished contact with her mind. "I just learned that I am able to heal others." I told her. "How does this help me? I'm a rock." She responded coldly. "No, you're very much alive. I can heal the damage, but I need to think of a way to get you safely out first." Her mind seemed to brighten a bit. Did I just instill hope in somebody? I waited for her to say something else but when she didn't I broke our contact. My encounter with Slade confirmed I was running out of time. So I spent almost all of the next day training mostly trying various things with my powers. I need to know everything I can do, and know my own limits. It actually felt good not to be able to feed off Terra anymore.

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Raven's POV

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Luckily the city was peaceful the next day. I spent the whole day in my room trying to meditate, I only left to get tea or use the restroom. For some reason I just couldn't focus. Before I knew it the sun was setting. I sat on the edge of my bed staring at my clock. Six PM, only six more hours and this day is over.

My thoughts were interrupted by a single knock on my door. I set the clock back on the night stand and got up to answer the door. There was nobody outside, just a bunch of arrows on the floor leading down the hall. I followed them into the living room. As soon as the doors slid open I was assaulted with "Surprise!". The shock made me sink into the floor defensively. I rose directly behind Beastboy making him squeal and run toward Cyborg. Cyborg was holding a large cake in his hands with a huge smile on his face. "Make a wish!" He said pushing the cake in my face. "How did you guys know it' my birthday?" I asked confused, I never told them.

Beastboy began to explain "Ok, we were wondering why you acting weird after fighting Dr. Light so we did some snooping…" He was interrupted by the others staring at him. "Ok, so **I** did some snooping. I pulled up your file on the computer and it kinda had your birth day on it…so, happy birth day!" "If you knew what today means you wouldn't be celebrating." I said darkly. "Oh come on." Cyborg said pulling out a piñata shaped like Beastboy from behind him. "I got a piñata that looks like Beastboy, you know you want to hit it." He began dangling it in front of me as though I was a cat. I could take no more of this. "NO!!!" I shouted lashing out with my powers causing both the piñata and cake to explode in Cyborg's face. "There is nothing worth celebrating about my birth." I said as I stormed out of the room.

Robin stopped me in the hall. "What was that about?" he asked, concern evident in his voice. I didn't answer, I just turned away. "We have a bond," He began as he stepped in front of me cutting off my retreat. "You've been in my mind…let me in yours." He finished. "There are places in my mind no one should see." I countered. "You know that as well as anyone." I finished as I pushed past him and into my room. I closed the door behind me.

I levitated over the center of my bed chanting my mantra, "Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos" Before I could enter my mind and consult with my emotions I heard my father's voice in my head. "Soon the Earth shall be mine." It said. My eyes snapped open. "No," I said to the voice in my head. "I won't help you." My head was filled with my father's mocking laughter. "You have no choice!" He shouted. I saw fire quickly spread across my room, consuming everything. "You will open the portal," Outside of my window I saw the entire city in ruins, looming above them was my father. "You will set me free!" He shouted.

"NO!!!!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. The fire disappeared instantly. As if someone flipped a switch. I heard footsteps run to my door. "Raven!" Robin shouted through the door. I opened it a crack so that he could see I was alright. "I heard you scream." He said. "It was just a nightmare." I responded. He seemed to relax a little. "You sure your alright?" He said, concern still in his voice. "Yes, I'm fine. Go back to bed." I responded before closing my door and leaning against it.

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Demon's POV

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I learned a few new tricks, and a lot about my powers. It's always nice to know how one's powers work. Unlike Raven, who's powers manipulate objects and people at a distance, I have to be close to the objects I want to manipulate. Even then I can't throw them like she can, but I can bend and cut things easily. With the exception of feeding, my powers seem limited to a radius of about three feet. Within three feet I am the most dangerous opponent you could ever hope to meet. But get a little distance on me and I can't do much more than block and dodge.

I can, however close distance quickly thanks to a new ability I discovered. By infusing myself with massive amounts of dark energy I can move very fast in extremely short bursts. But it is rather tiring, both physically and mentally. I can also become incorporeal, allowing me to pass through solid objects. This is even more taxing than my dark speed however and as such I doubt I will ever use it…unless….

I walked to the main room containing the fossilized girl. She was still holding on to the hope that I gave her. I felt bad just thinking of what I was about to do. I re-formed our mental link. "I'm sorry Terra." I said to her mind. "What for?" she asked. "I… can't help you…it would require far too much energy…I simply can't…" I responded trying to sound as apologetic as possible. My words did exactly what I wanted them to. They destroyed her, ripped what hope I gave her to cling to away, leaving nothing but despair and pain. And I fed.

For hours I stood there feeding. I felt as though I was going to explode because of the pent up energy, but I persisted. I needed every ounce I could hold. I reached a point when I simply couldn't feed anymore, I tried but to no avail. Now is the time. If I succeed she wouldn't care that I lied to her, if I fail… at least she will stop hurting one way or the other.

I charged myself with dark energy, forcing my physical body away into a dark void. I passed thru the statue, gathering what was left of the girl, and pulled it through the other side. I held her in a pocket of space created by my ethereal self, in which I repaired her. Her body suffered a lot of damage. Every inch of skin had to be re-grown, as well as over half her muscles. The internal organs were the easiest part to repair. After all the bodily connections were repaired they just switched back on automatically. After my work on her physical body was complete I needed to reestablish its connection with her mind.

I placed her on the floor before retrieving my physical self from the black void I had stored it in. I sat on my ankles next to her head. I placed her head in my lap and placed my hands over her forehead. The physical contact made it easier to create our mental link again. "What's going on?" She asked as soon as the connection was made. "I'm trying anyway." I told her before passing massive amounts of energy directly through her mind and into her body. I didn't know I had passed out until I woke up.

Darkness slowly receded from my vision, but everything was a blur. I felt fingers running through my hair. As my senses slowly returned I realized where I was, and who that was looking down at me. I feebly reached up as if to lightly touch her face. I placed the claw on my index finger against her cheek and let my arm fall leaving behind a small gash.

"Ouch!" she yelped in surprise and brought her had that was gently petting my head up to her face. I siphoned what little energy I could from the small sensation and sat upright. "What was that for?" She asked as she realized it was intentional. "I feed off pain to heal myself." I responded truthfully. "Then why the hell did you save me?" She asked realizing what her use to me was untill. "How can I save the Earth if I can't save a life?" I asked rhetorically.

After standing and flexing various sore muscles I realized something. "Your nude." I pointed out blatantly. I hadn't even thought about it until now. "I know, it just didn't seem right to leave you laying unconscious in the middle of the floor after you risked your life to save me." "I think there's some…" I began but she stood and left the room in the middle of my sentence. She returned dressed in a body suit that looked as though it was nothing more than cloth straps wrapped around her limbs and torso. Her chest was covered by a small metal plate. "I know." She responded to my unfinished statement upon entering the room. We stood in silence for a while, neither of us knew what to say. She broke the silence with, "You hungry? Cause I could eat a horse."

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A/N: So, to wrap up this chapter. The demon takes his first steps toward actually being a hero, Raven is now a year older, and Terra is back.

Thank you for your review SkyAngel429, the next chapter is dedicated to you.


	6. Lost Innocence

A/N: Dedicated to SkyAngel429, who showed intrest in the final events of this chapter.

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Demon's POV

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Terra and I walked out of my new home and into the night air. It was probably after midnight by now. "I know this place with apple pie that's to die for." She said with a smile. I returned it as I remembered what pie was...It's funny what I can and can't remember about my human life. "Got money?" I asked. "Don't worry, I know the owner, she comps me pie all the time." I didn't fully understand what she meant by 'comp', but I got the impression it meant free pie. "Follow me." She said summoning a large rock platform under her feet, lifting herself into the air.

Along the way I asked every stupid question that popped into my head. Mainly along the lines of 'what is .' She was surprisingly understanding of my ignorance. Because of her I now know the difference between a car, truck, and van. I know that the buildings are made of concrete, and the road is made of asphalt. She explained the pathetic existence the people of this city lived. Every single one of their lives revolved around technology. If someone were to take it away they would perish. I also learned each Titan's name, though I doubted I would ever need that information.

We landed in front of a small building on the outskirts of the city. I allowed Terra to enter first. "Oh, hey Terra." Said a kind elderly woman's voice. "What's with the getup?" she asked. "Just practicing for Halloween." Terra said joyfully. I then entered the eatery. The old woman's gaze left Terra and fell on me. She jumped backwards in panic knocking down and breaking many plates. She was petrified. "What has this 'News' been saying about me?" I asked trying to be amusing, as I crossed the room and sat in the stool next to Terra. It pivoted a little. I resisted the urge to spin around and scream 'weeeeeeee'. I smiled the sincerest and most innocent smile I could manage and asked, "Can we get some pie please? Terra says it's awesome."

The old woman just nodded and hurried off to the back. I could sense people approaching the door. I turned my head toward Terra as if I was talking to her, but was really looking over my shoulder. They both had guns, and seemed to be arguing, they hadn't seen me yet. I quickly moved to the side of the diner and flattened myself against the wall. Terra looked at me confused, but before she could say anything the door burst open.

"This is a hold up! On the floor!" The first one said pointing the gun at Terra. Man, the crime rate in this city is insane. The second saw me…but it didn't matter at this point, I was already on the move. "Oh shit!" He said firing two shots at me, neither hit. I grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground as his buddy spun around to face us. "You've been bad boys." I said putting on my 'evil face'. "Time to be punished." I said before I crushed his trachea and threw the him through the window. The other tried to shoot me, but before he could even raise his gun I sent a stream of dark energy through it, cutting it in half.

"Ahhh, did I break your toy?" I taunted before grabbing his face, digging my claws into his flesh. I formed a ball of energy in my palm and drove it forward sending a spray of blood out the back of his head. I released him and let his corpse fall to the floor. Terra just sat there, staring blankly at me. "What?" I asked. I could still hear the first man choking as he struggled for breath. I ignored him, he'd be dead in a minute.

The old woman poked her head around the corner, "What just happened out here?" She asked nervously. "You were being robbed. But I took care of it." I answered still under Terra's piercing stare. "What!?" I asked again, beginning to get annoyed. "You…killed those men." She said still staring at me. "So, they were bad men who hurt innocent people, they deserve no less." I responded. "You…you can't just kill people." She continued. "Why? Why I can't kill those who kill? Why I can't ensure that they will never hurt another person? Why must I allow their surviving victims to live in fear of being attacked again? Give me one good reason and I'll stop." She was speechless. "Killing is wrong." Was her feeble response. "I know. That's why I only kill those who deserve it." I said as I took my seat next to her.

The old woman returned with two plates, each had a generous portion of pie on it. I noticed she had cut her hand. I wasn't sure if it was because of the sudden surprise of the gunshots, or if she was shaking so bad she couldn't control the knife. As she placed the food in front of me I grabbed her injured hand. She yelped in surprise as I flooded the small wound with healing energy. I let her go as suddenly as I had grabbed her. She looked to her hand and back to me in surprise. "You…you heal people?" I looked up from my plate. "Yeah. Despite what the news says about me. I'm here to help." I said as I put the first piece of pie in my mouth.

"Damn that's good pie!" I said truthfully. Never had I tasted anything like it. The old woman behind the counter smiled a little. She went to the back as I finished my slice. She returned with a whole pie. "Take it and go…the cops will be here soon." She warned. I took the pie and gave her a slight nod. Terra and I left without another word to each other.

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Raven's POV

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The next morning I was the first one awake. I went to the living room and turned on the T.V. and flipped to the news. I knew it would have something to do with the demon. The reporter was in front of a small diner. One of the windows were broken. The reporter was interviewing an old woman, probably a waitress at the diner. "Describe what happened." The reporter instructed sticking the microphone in front of her face. "well, when he came in I was terrified. I heard all the things he's been doing around town. I thought for sure he was going to kill me." The waitress gave a slight laugh. "But he ordered a slice of pie instead. I wasn't about to tell him no."

She took a breath before continuing. "While I was in the back I heard the front door open forcefully. Then a man yelled 'this is a hold up, on the ground.' There were two shots and then a lot of screaming. I poked my head out from the back to see what had happened as my cook called the cops." The reporter took back the microphone. "Can you describe what you saw?" she asked before passing it back to the waitress. "My window was shattered, and a guy was laying in the middle of the floor with a large hole in his head. At that point I just wanted the damned thing out of my diner so I brought him his pie." "Did anything else happen?" The reporter asked. "Yeah. When I was cutting the pie I slipped and cut myself pretty badly. After I set down his food he grabbed my cut" She rubbed her left hand with her right thumb to indicate the place the cut used to be. "He healed it in a matter of seconds." The reporter seemed shocked.

"He healed you?" She asked. "That was my reaction. We had a little chat after that." The waitress said with a slight smile. "You…chatted?" the reporter asked. "Not really, he just said…and I quote. 'Despite what the news says about me. I'm here to help.'" Before the reporter took back the mic the waitress spoke again. "I bet that if you do a background check on all his victims you would find that they are all guilty of violent crimes." With that I turned off the T.V.

I went to find Robin. I knew he had to be racking his brain trying to figure out what the demon was and what his motives were. I found him in his 'crime lab'. There was a map of the city on the wall with pushpins indicating the places the demon had struck. He looked up at me questioningly. "He kills criminals." I said as I crossed the room to the map. I pushed in another pin indicating the diner. "He's struck again?" Robin asked. "Yeah, some guys that were robbing a diner." I answered. "If he only attacks criminals, why did he attack you?" He asked

I knew exactly why, but I couldn't bring myself to say it. So I lied, "He's probably confused. He's never actually seen us save anybody." It was a bit of a stretch but Robin bought it. Before our conversation could continue the alarm went off. We both rushed to the living room as the map of the city appeared on screen. There was a single large red dot in the middle of the industrial district. The others came in shortly after, Beastboy looked like he was about to fall over. "Man, its only 7:00 can't they wait a few more hours?"

We all raced toward the industrial district. The whole way I felt as though I was being watched. I looked over my shoulder but couldn't see anything. "I hope he's as easy as he was last time." I say to myself as we continued to the factory.

Upon entering the factory we saw something we all thought we would never see again…Slade. "Well if it isn't the Titans. It's been a long time." He said mockingly. "Dude, Terra took you down! Way down!" Beastboy said in surprise. "Yes, I seem to have terrible luck with apprentices." He said as the mark of Skath appeared on his forehead. "No" I whispered to myself. He leapt into the air toward us. "Titans…"Robin started to yell his battle cry, but was interrupted as the demon leapt from the shadows and collided with Slade in mid air.

The demon was on the bottom when they landed. He kicked his legs upward sending Slade into the air again. "Terra, Now!" He shouted. A large boulder flew over our heads and collided with Slade in mid air sending him into the far wall with a loud crash before falling to the ground. Slade was still stuck in the wall. We all turned, and sure enough there stood Terra, in all her treacherous glory. She gave a little smile before saying, "Hi guys."

"Terra? How?" Beastboy began. "You can thank me for that." The demon said taking a deep bow. "Now, you guys going to stand aside as I kill Raven or must we drag this out to its final stupidity?" He asked as he straightened up. "What? You said you wanted to stop Slade!" Terra yelled pointing her finger at the hell spawned creature. "Oh, I do, he's here to insure that Rav…" Before he could finish his sentence he was hit from behind by a torrent of flame. "Titans go!" Robin shouted sending the team into attack mode.

Robin, Terra, and I took on Slade. Beastboy, Cyborg, and Starfire took on the demon. Robin rushed in as he always did when fighting Slade. I grabbed a large gear and ripped it from the machinery it was attached to and waited for my opportunity to use it. Robin was hit in the chest by a pillar of fire sending him flying backwards. I threw the cog as Terra threw a rock. The both hit Slade on opposite sides causing his spine to shatter as he fell limp. Did, I just kill somebody?

He quickly got back up joints popping loudly. I was distracted for a moment as a bloody Beastboy sailed past me. Sharp pain filled my body as Slade grabbed my wrists. "I never knew what you were capable of." His voice said in my head. "I would have never guessed you would be the one to destroy the Earth." "NO!" I shouted as I pushed him away with a wave of dark energy. My costume had been ripped where he grabbed me exposing my forearms, and the glowing red runes that now resided there.

Terra ran to Beastboy and kneeled beside him lifting his head. "Beastboy!, Say something." She pleaded to him. "Ouch." He responded. I heard footsteps running up behind me I quickly ducked and rolled to the right as the demon barreled past me and into Slade. The way the demon moved was amazing. He was able to match Slade, move for move. I could do nothing but watch. Slade tried to kick the demon in the ribs. But the demon ducked raising his right arm and caught Slade's leg. He then wrapped both arms tightly around it as he flipped to the side. I could hear the joints dislocating, and almost felt the ligaments tearing.

Both Slade and the demon was on the floor. The demon grabbed Slade's ankle with both hands as he placed the balls of his feet on both sides of his kneecap. With a loud pop the demon forced Slade's leg to bend nearly ninety degrees directly to the side. Slade didn't scream, he acted as though he felt no pain at all.

The demon stood and placed his foot against Slade's chest. A wicked grin crossed his face as he increased the pressure until Slade's chest caved in. He then bent down and grabbed Slade's head in both hands and twisted it completely around, then turned it upside down. "Heal that, asshole." The demon said as he stood. He then turned to me, I could see the cold determination in his eyes. Without another word he attacked.

Before he made it three inches he was blown away. by a sonic blast from Cyborg. I turned to see him running toward us missing an arm. I quickly backed up, trying to get some distance between me and the demon. To my horror, Slade sat up. His head still upside down and backwards, his chest still caved in. Both injures were quickly repaired. His chest filled out as though a balloon suddenly inflated inside his ribcage. His head twisted around at unnatural angles until it was righted again. He stood and lunged at me. I grabbed him in my dark energy and threw him backwards.

The demon was coming up on my left again. I turned to fight him off, but didn't have to as a large rock struck him sending him flying. Terra was standing over Beastboy eyes glowing yellow. "You son of a bitch!" She yelled as another boulder was ripped from the ground behind her and hurled forward. Slade came up behind me and ripped off my cloak and placed his palm against the back of my neck sending another wave of pain through me. "Get your hands off her!" Robin shouted as he caught Slade in the temple with a flying kick.

I saw Terra fly over me as Slade blasted Robin with another pillar of fire. The two collided in the air. Now both Slade and the demon were rushing me. I grabbed Slade in a claw of dark energy and threw him over my head and into the demon. As I had hoped they began fighting as soon as they made contact. I had to get out of here while they were distracted.

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Demon's POV

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Everything was going as expected. Until Slade collided with my chest knocking me down. I tore at his body as he burned mine. Luckily Terra was still conscious and in pain from the bruises I was forced to inflict on her. We wrestled for what seemed like twenty minutes. Slade managed to position himself under me and with a blast of hellfire sent me flying away from him.

When I regained my senses I realized Raven was nowhere to be seen, and Slade was heading for the door. I looked over the other Titans. Starfire was still unconscious where I had left her. Beastboy would bleed to death if he didn't get medical attention. Robin was unconscious under Terra. And Terra was in so much pain she could barely move. Cyborg was the only one standing, and he was hardly in a condition to fight.

"Why are you doin this man?" He asked. "You honestly don't know?" I asked surprised. How could they not know the most important thing about Raven? Before this line of distracting questioning could continue I ran forward dodging his blasts. I then drove a dark blade through his chest. The blue lights that covered his body went dark and he fell backwards. I turned to leave but looked at the pathetic state Beastboy was in.

I walked over to the green skinned boy and knelt beside him. I placed my hands over his chest and filled his body with healing energy. After sealing the last open wound his eyes snapped open. "Dude…you… healed me?"He asked confused about my motives. I stood up. "Terra risked her life for you, there must be something worth saving." With that I turned and ran toward the door. I heard him yelp in pain as he tried to get up and follow me. I left enough injuries to ensure he was no longer a threat. Now, which way did they go?

I heard an explosion to my right so that's the way I went. I found them fighting in the middle of the street. I landed behind Raven. She knew I was there, but her eyes never left Slade. "I'm not going to help him!" She shouted. "Oh, but you don't have a choice." Slade said before launching his attack. I ran forward and threw Raven out of the way. His palm was pressed against my chest. He looked up at me in confusion. "Your groping people now?" I taunted before I thrust my index finger into his one eye. He screamed in pain as I pulled it out, along with his eye.

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Raven's POV

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I watched from the ground as the demon ripped out Slade's eye. Slade staggered backward covering his bleeding eye socket with his hand. He began to randomly attack with his new fire powers. But the attempt was pointless. The demon easily dodged the attacks. As the demon rushed forward I flew away again. He had the opportunity to finish me, why didn't he?

I didn't get far before I heard the beating of his wings hot on my tail. I picked up a street light and threw it at him. He barrel rolled to the left to avoid it and kept chasing me. I stopped suddenly and turned to face my pursuer. To my surprise he didn't attack. I landed on a nearby roof, he did the same.

"You said you weren't going to help your father." He said, no jokes, no taunts, just right to the point. "I don't want to help him. I never did." I explained. "Then why did you give him Azarath?" He asked, more serious than I have ever seen him. "I didn't." I responded. "I was there. I saw you." He persisted. I was about to deny his claim again as memories began to flood back.

The city was covered in fire. I hid my face in my mother's shoulder, crying because of what I had done. "It's not your fault." She said soothingly while stroking my hair. I heard a horrible, hungry voice yell. "There you are!" My mother threw me to the ground and began to speak an incantation. I caught only a glimpse of our attacker, wings, and claws. The next thing I knew I was standing in a dark alley in the middle of Jump City with no recollection of the previous events.

I fell to my knees, tears welling up in my eyes. How could I do such a thing? I had destroyed my home, my friends…my mother. "I'm sorry." I began to sob. "I didn't mean to…I…" I couldn't finish my sentence due to the unrelenting sobs. My last memory of my mother was a blood thirsty demon that I let out charging at her. I felt a hand fall tenderly on my shoulder. I looked up through a vale of tears and saw the demon's face. Rage quickly came to the surface at the site of the creature.

Tentacles of dark energy erupted from my body and wrapped themselves around him. I slammed him into the roof and drug him across the small stones covering it, effectively skinning him. "You killed her didn't you! You killed my mother!" I accused as I lifted his bloody form from the graveled roof. "You killed her, just like you killed Beastboy!" I yelled as I slammed him into an air-conditioning unit. "You killed them! Now you will know the pain of death!" I lifted him again and brought him down impaling him on a lightning rod attached to the corner of the building.

I forced my rage back as I realized what I had done. I rushed over to him. He was coughing up blood by the time I got there. I tried to lift him off with my powers, but my mind was in complete disarray. I couldn't focus enough to lift a feather. "No…no…no no no." I repeated placing a hand under his head. "Sh…she's….she's still…" He struggled to speak. "I'm sorry." I began to sob. He was beginning to go pale, his eyes were losing focus. I murdered him, in cold blood, for a crime he didn't even comit. I'm even worse than he ever was.

I heard sarcastic clapping from behind me. I turned to see Slade walking toward me. "Couldn't have done better myself." He said. I couldn't fight back, I couldn't stop him. He placed both his hands on my head and all I knew was pain as he finished the inscriptions needed to summon my father.

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A/N: Bet you didn't see that coming.

This chapter wasn't as good as I would have liked, but it does have a nice little plot twist.


	7. Mental Problems

A/N: Wow, no new reveiws. I'm kind of surprised. Oh well, I'll press on regardless.

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Demon's POV

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Raven stood over me, tears streaming down her face. I wasn't sure if they were for me, or for herself. "I'm sorry." She said between sobs. I couldn't understand what just happened. One minute she's crying her head off. When I tried to comfort her she flips out in a psychotic rage, and now more crying. I tried to lift my hand. I tried to grab her throat and rip it out. But I couldn't move. I was getting cold. As my vision began to fade I heard Slade's sarcastic claps. "Couldn't have done better myself." He said.

I was fading fast. I wouldn't last another minute. Luckily, I didn't have to. Slade took it for granted that I was dead. As he began to inscribe the runes on Raven her pain gave me just enough strength to stop the bleeding. With a thought I sliced through the bottom of the pole I was impaled on. I stood up weakly. He didn't even notice, he was too busy groping Raven to realize anything.

I grabbed the pole with my right hand and pulled it forward. It was hard to grip because of the blood. After three tries I finally freed it from my body. Raven's continued pain quickly filled in the hole. I looked at Slade, his hands roaming over her body, tearing her clothes and leaving those damned runes where ever they went. It was like seeing Arella's rape again. As his hand descended her front I could watch no more. I used what little strength I had left to ram the spike I held in my hand through his eye, and out the back of his head.

Raven fell to the ground as he stumbled backwards. Slade pulled the object from his skill, taking his eye with it. "How many of those am I going to have to take from you before you learn?" I taunted, knowing all too well that I couldn't possibly fight him. I looked down at Raven, who just stared up at me. I was planning on killing her right there, and ending all of this. But those eyes…those large, tear filled eyes. She was nothing more than a frightened child now, and no matter how bad I may be, I can't kill a child.

I bent down and scooped her up in my arms. I then leapt off the edge of the building leaving the blinded Slade behind. It seems his eye is rather difficult for him to regenerate. I flew us back to the factory where the others lay incapacitated. I landed and saw Robin limping toward us, supporting himself on his staff. "What did you do to her!" He yelled, as though he would stand a ghost of a chance in a fight. I set Raven down gently. Upon touching the floor she hugged her knees and just sat there, shivering. "What did you do!" Robin shouted again, now realizing the truly pathetic state she was in.

I just walked past him. I had a lot of work to do. I knelt down over Terra. "You did good." I said reassuring her as I placed my hand to her stomach, healing her wounds. I walked around the area healing the wounds of my former enemies. I healed Robin last. Even as I worked he looked like he wanted to snap my neck. "I can't heal Cyborg." I informed them. "Why did you even bother to heal us?" Robin asked as the other Titans formed behind him. "Because he wants to help." Terra answered for me.

They all looked at her for an explanation. "He feeds off pain to heal himself, and yet he saved me from my stone prison effectively cutting himself off from a constant source of agony." She began. "His methods are brutal, and bloody. But he is far from evil. I've done far worse than he ever has." She said lowering her head. I felt her guilt flood her mind again. "Just give him a chance to make up for his mistakes."

A light exploded over head sending down a rain of glass. I looked over at Raven who seemed to be consumed in her emotions, smiling one second, and crying her eyes out the next. "I'll start by putting her mind back together." I told them before walked over to her. She looked up at me as I approached. Fear was evident in her face. She began to crawl backwards trying to get away. I grabbed her ankle and pulled her toward me. She rolled over on all fours and continued to try to escape. I leaned forward and wrapped my arm around her chest and pulled her back into a seated position. I wrapped my legs around her waist to ensure she couldn't escape as I placed both hands on her temples. She tried to struggle free, but couldn't. I rested my forehead on the back of hers and forced myself into her mind. I had to get her emotions under control.

Her mind was chaotic. The landscape was twisted and barren. The whole thing seemed to float in the middle of nothingness. I had to find Raven if I was to have a hope of repairing the damage that I had apparently caused. As I walked down the path I could feel countless eyes upon me. "Go back." A small, high pitched voice said. "Not happening." I responded. "Go back." It said again. I came to a dead tree. In it were a dozen or so black birds with huge eyes. "Go back." One said. They looked far more comical than dangerous. But the lessons I had learned in hell stayed with me. I readied myself for attack.

As I attempted to pass the tree they changed from the innocent looking birds, to demonic bastardizations of crows. They had four glowing red eyes, just like Trigon. They swooped and clawed all around me. But they had a hard time getting through my shield. I decided to let them off with a warning. "If you keep this up you'll be sorry." They didn't stop. "Ok, if that's how you want it." I said lowering my shield.

One immediately swooped down attempting to claw out my eyes. I caught it in mid air, and with a sudden squeeze broke every bone in its body. I threw the corpse off the landscape to drift in the void. The other's backed off, but only for a moment. As they swooped toward me again I released my powers. In a matter of seconds every one of them was dead, or dying. I continued down the path, their bones crunching beneath my feet.

As I continued down the rocky landscape I heard singing. I followed the voice to its source, Raven. Or at least, a part of Raven. She was wearing pink and…frolicking. "You must be Raven's happiness." I said as I approached. She turned toward me. "Yep, Nice to meet you." She said offering her hand with a bright smile on her face. "Where's Raven?" I asked, completely ignoring her outstretched hand. "I am Raven." She said. "No, you're a part of Raven." I clarified. "That makes me Raven." She argued, but happily. I let out a sigh. "Fine, where is the Raven in the blue cloak?" I rephrased the question. "She's fighting Rage right now, she can't talk." She said as she went to investigate a rock.

I rubbed my eyes. "Where is Rage?" I asked, not even trying to hide the annoyance in my voice. "Fighting Raven." She answered as she skipped back over to me. When she was close enough I grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground. "I don't have time for your damned games!" I shouted baring my teeth. "What's your problem, someone kicked your puppy?" She asked, the smile never leaving her face. "If you don't want my foot in your ass you'll…" I began but she interrupted me with, "I'm not into that sort of thing. You should talk to Lust, she's kinky like that." I sighed in annoyance, this was going nowhere. I ended our conversation by throwing her into a large rock wall.

I continued to wander the jagged landscape in search of Raven, or at least an emotion that was willing to help. I came upon a large, flat, open area. The second I stepped foot in it large walls rose up around me forming a maze. "Well, shit." I said to myself. I tried to fly over the walls, but hit an invisible barrier half way up. "Looks like I'm taking the long way." I said to myself as I started down the first corridor. I used the same tricks I used to get out of the labyrinth. I marked which way I went with a horizontal scratch, always on the right wall. If it lead to a dead end, I would make a vertical scratch through my previous mark making a '+'. I continued with this method until I found another Raven.

This one was wearing grey, and kept her head down. "Do you know the way out of this maze?" I asked. "Yeah, but you won't like me when you get there." She said depressingly. "I don't like you now." I clarified. She lead the way, and I followed. "I'm sorry for almost killing you." She said quietly. "I don't care." I answered. I realized that nothing I said would make her cheer up, so there wasn't a point in trying. "I'm sorry for…" She began but I interrupted her, "Don't care. Just show me the way out." She sighed and continued through the maze.

After what seemed like hours of the 'Sorry', 'Don't care' conversation we finally reached the exit. I noticed two large statues to either side of the path that continued from the maze. "They're going to attack me aren't they?" I asked before actually leaving the maze. "Yeah, I said you wouldn't like me when…" Again I cut her off, "Didn't like you to begin with." I said stepping forward out of the maze. As I exited the maze it sank back into the ground as fast as it had appeared. The eyes on the statues began to glow.

They connected with each other back to back, forming a large stone creature with four arms, and two faces. It drew four swords before it attacked. The thing was slow and predictable. I easily dodged a downward strike. Its sword got stuck in the ground. I jumped onto it and ran up its arm to its head. I placed both hands on its face and produced two blades of energy. I jumped off its shoulder and cut it in half as I fell to the ground. "That's what I was about to do." Said the green cloaked Raven sitting in a tree. She jumped down in front of me before saying, "Whoo, high five!" I just stared at her.

"What? You wanna fight?" She asked after realizing I had no intention of returning her celebratory gesture. She began dancing around with her fists up as though she was boxing. "you wouldn't stand a chance." I said crossing my arms. "You sure?" She asked as she circled me. I just rolled my eyes. "Fine." I said before launching my unexpected attack. I took her down with a sweep kick. I caught her by the throat in mid fall and pinned her against a half of the fallen statue guardian thing. I ran the claw on my thumb across her stomach, barely ripping her costume, to indicate the death blow. "I win." I said before releasing her.

"Now, are we going to continue this stupidity, or are you going to lead me to where Raven and Rage are currently fighting?" I asked as I crossed my arms again. "This way." She said in response as she lifted into the air. Finally, now we're getting somewhere. She landed on a large flat area. I landed behind her. "Here we are." She said. I looked around, but didn't see a single thing. "You messing with me?" I asked annoyed. "No way, we're just on the wrong side of the ground." She said before running to the edge of the landscape and diving off. I followed her, what was the worst that could happen?

I flipped over the bottom edge of the ground and sure enough, there was a massive battle going on. But Raven wasn't fighting an angry copy of herself, rather an angry copy of Trigon. "Well, what's up bitchcakes!" I said addressing Trigon. "Bitchcakes, that's a good one." The green Raven said in response to my insult. Both Raven and Trigon looked at me. "What are you doing here?" Raven yelled her question. Trigon just attacked. I rolled between his legs as he charged toward me. I turned and leaped onto his calf as soon as he passed. I began to climb up his leg.

He howled in pain as I dug serrated blades into his flesh. Raven hit him in the spine with a blast of dark energy sending him to his knees. By this time I was on the back of his thigh. Green Raven blasted him in the face with a similar attack to the one the blue Raven used. This caused Trigon to fall backward. He would have crushed me had I not leaped off at the last minute. "What the hell?" I asked the green Raven. "If you can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen." Was her response. "What are you doing in my mind!?" blue Raven yelled floating up beside me. "I'm here to help you fix it." I answered as Trigon began to climb back to his feet.

Raven and I scattered as he attempted to stomp on us. "Is not broken!" She yelled as I rolled to my feet. "Lie to yourself all you want." I said as I rushed toward the red giant. How do I fight a giant? Simple, attack the feet. I dodged a beam that Trigon fired from his eyes. As I neared he lifted his foot to try and stomp me again. As his foot came down, my blades went up. The result was me cutting half his foot off. He fell, unable to balance on the slender surface area. He was surprisingly agile for someone as large as he was. He landed on his shoulder and rolled into a kneeling position as his foot regenerated.

"It's going to take far more than that to stop me." He said standing up again. "Okay, here's the plan." I began to address the two Ravens who drifted close to me so we could talk quietly. "I'll draw his attention to me, then you two start blasting. Try everything you can think of the get his attention off me." The green one looked confused. "Won't that defeat the purpose of you distracting him?" She asked. "No, the point is to keep his attention shifting between us." I clarified. It worked on me when I fought the Titans the first time.

"Ravens go!" I shouted in a Robinesque manner. They spread out as I rushed forward. He seemed to focus on blue Raven. "Hey limp dick, down here!" I shouted. That seemed to piss him off. I rolled out of the way of another eye beam. Green Raven hit him directly in the ear with a large ball of energy. He howled in pain as he placed a hand over the damaged ear. He immediately began attacking green Raven.

I rushed in again as blue Raven hit him in the spine with a beam attack. His attention shifted, as did his weight. Before he could balance again I severed the Achilles tendon on his right foot causing him to fall forward onto one knee. I ran out of the reach of his fists and green Raven hit him in the chest with multiple energy blasts.

Blue Raven and I attacked at the same time. I leaped into the air and severed his lower spine as she hit him in the face. He fell forward onto his stomach. A bright red light enveloped him. When it faded a red cloaked Raven floated where he had been. "What's wrong cunt funk, out of energy?" I taunted. All three Raven's glared at me. "Too much?" I asked. "Yeah." Blue and green Raven answered at the same time. Red Raven just glared at me with those four eyes. "This isn't the last you'll see of me." She said, attempting to sound intimidating, but somehow, I just wasn't afraid. She then faded away.

"What now?" I asked. "Now, you get the hell out of my head and let me get myself under control." Blue Raven said. "Fine, I'm gone. See you on the other side." I said before realizing I had no idea how to leave. "Umm…where's the door?" I asked. Blue Raven just pointed at a stone archway. I entered it and found myself back in my own body, my head still pressed against hers. I released her and stood up.

"Well, that was…interesting." I said turning to the others. "What happened?" Robin asked. "Well, she was so busy fighting her rage that all her other emotions were free to do as they pleased, so I had to help her win, she's now putting all the other emotions back where they belong." I summarized. As I finished Raven stood up again. "Everything ok now?" Robin asked her. Before she could answer I administered a test. "Big floppy donkey dick!" I shouted. This instantly made me the center of attention. Raven looked the most confused out of all of them. "Yep, she's back to normal." I said. "Had she laughed, cried, screamed, or spread her legs, we would know all is not right." I explained. "Spread her legs?" Beastboy asked. "Lust is a very real emotion in her mind, and apparently likes having things shoved…" I began but was silenced by a swift backhand.

I laughed as I got back to my feet. "Ok, so here's the deal." I said getting serious again and looking directly at Raven. "I helped you get your mind back in order so I wouldn't feel bad about killing someone who was mentally incompetent." I began. The Titans quickly got away from me. "However, I recognize that you don't want to…" I glanced at the others before continuing. "fulfill your destiny. So I'll do what I can to help you defy it, so long as you defy it." I pointed a finger at her before finishing, "But if you ever decide to help him, I WILL kill you. Got it?" She just nodded. I offered my hand for a shake. "Deal?" I asked. "Deal." She said taking it.

"Great!" I said resuming my care free mentality. "Who wants pie?" I asked joyfully. Starfire seemed to brighten a bit at the mention of pie. "I still don't understand." Robin said, causing Starfire's grin to disappear. "If you are so eager to help, why attack Raven at all?" I looked him in the eye. "It's better that you hear it from her than me." I stated. I looked over at Raven. "You going to explain now, or wait till we get home?" I asked. "Wait, we?" Beastboy interrupted. "Yeah, I just agreed to protect her, I can't very well do that from across the city now can I?" I responded. "It sounded like you threatened to kill her to me." He argued. "You'll understand after her explanation." I offered. "Grab tin man and lets go, the longer we stay here the more likely we are to run into Slade again." For once they actually listened to me.

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A/N: Well there you have it. The demon joins the Titans...sort of

I am expecting some more reviews for this one. I probably won't get a chance to sit and write for a while due to turkey day and the clean up there after. Hope the length of this one can make up for it.


	8. Beast from hell

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Raven's POV

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I don't know why I had agreed to his offer. Part of me is scared that he won't honor our deal, he may just wait until I go to sleep and then kill me. Part of me hoped that's exactly what he had planned. Then I wouldn't need to worry about hurting my friends. I wouldn't have to face my destiny. But somehow, I doubt he will turn on me.

I looked back at him as we headed for the tower trying to read his face. He was too busy scanning the city below to notice the extra attention. I had no idea what he was looking for. I gave up on trying to read him, it was useless. He didn't broadcast a single emotion.

The demon, Starefire, and I landed on the roof as Robin and Beastboy parked the vehicles in the garage. Cyborg was going to freak out when he learns that Beastboy actually drove his "baby". Starfire immediately took Cyborg to the medical room as I went to fetch his spare parts. The demon followed me silently every step of the way. It was rather disconcerting.

The others met us in the med room as Starfire and I replaced the lost parts. It wasn't too hard, his schematics were surprisingly easy to read. After hooking up his new power source he booted right up. "What's he doing here?" Was the first thing he said after regaining consciousness. "I buried the hatchet." The demon answered. "And not in Raven's head in case you haven't noticed." He joked lightly. I wasn't amused. As far as I'm concerned, Beastboy's bad jokes are all this team needs.

"Well, you better get started." The demon said looking directly at me. I took a deep breath before explaining what was going on. "My father is…Trigon the terrible." I started. Everyone except the demon gasped in surprise. "His cruelty is legendary, even on my planet." Starfire said. "Oh, it gets better." The demon said, making me even more uncomfortable. "I'm not just his offspring," I continued. "But I'll eventually be the portal through which he comes to Earth." Again a series of gasps spread across the room.

"That's where I come in." The demon said drawing attention to himself and off of me. It was a welcomed relief. "I've spent around one thousand years, give or take, in a personal hell that Trigon had created for me. The experience left me twisted and deformed, as you can plainly see." He began explaining his connection to me. "As you can imagine I'm quite pissed off at the guy for what he did to me, so I plan on keeping him in hell, right where he belongs. I figured the best way to do that would be to destroy the portal before it is opened." It seemed like a sound plan that could have actually worked. "However, As much as I want to believe that Raven is evil, she isn't. In fact, other than her mother, she is the purest soul I have ever come into contact with."

I couldn't stand it any longer. "How do you know my mother?" I asked. "I…witnessed her rape at the hands of Trigon." He explained, he didn't look at me while he spoke. "Hers was the first pain I have ever fed off of." His words sent waves of anger through me, but I managed to contain the emotion before it could get out of hand. "When you let Trigon into Azarath I followed him. I almost killed you there, but your mother sent you to Earth to protect you." This information matched the flashback I had. "After she sent you away I apologized for my…nature. I told her why I was after you. She actually forgave me." He said, looking up from his feet. "She said there was still hope for me. That as long as I wasn't blinded by lust for vengeance that I would know what to do when the time came." Now he looked me directly in the eyes though did not focus on me. "I don't feel killing you is right. Though… it would save countless lives…." He trailed off.

He straightened his posture and stopped leaning on the wall. "I reserve it as my final option though." He said. "What was with that stuff about not killing her because of mental incompetence back at the factory?" Robin asked. "That was technically true, when she was on that roof top she just looked so pathetic I couldn't bring myself to even strike her. If left in that condition I couldn't kill her if I had to. It just sounded more heartless than I intended because of the battle high." The demon responded without much thought. "That pretty much explains everything." He said with a shrug. "If you need anything…I'll be wandering around aimlessly." He said before leaving the med room.

"That guy, scares the crap out of me." Beastboy said after the doors closed. "It's not him we should be worrying about." Terra said putting her arm around him. How can someone caked in blood and dirt win someone's respect and trust so easily? "We should probably give him a room." Cyborg said, finally getting off of the table where we had reassembled him. "I don't want him leaving any blood stains on the couch."

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Demon's POV

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I didn't have much time to explore before Terra found me. "You need a bath." She said bluntly. I sniffed at myself. I was a little…pungent. "I couldn't find any clean water." I said in my defense. It was technically true, but I didn't really look very hard. "Did you check the sink and tub?" she asked in response. "What's a sink?" I asked. She seemed stunned by the question itself. "Oh yeah, thousand years in hell, you don't know about plumbing." She said, more to herself than to me.

She gave me a little tour of the Tower pointing out various things I would never have thought to ask about. A lot has changed since I've been human. She ended the tour at the bathroom. She explained how to operate the fixtures and left me alone. It's amazing what difference a hot bath can make in your appearance. I looked like an entirely different creature, hell, I almost looked human again, except for the red eyes, and claws, and horns, and tail…. After the bath I went to the living room to find out more about these 'video games' Terra mentioned during the tour.

"I feel ten pounds lighter." I joked as I entered the room. Of the room's three occupants, Terra was the only one to laugh. Beastboy and Cyborg were sitting in the of the couch mashing buttons on strange devices while staring at flashing images on the wall. Terra was sitting on the end of the couch by herself. I sat next to her before asking, "So, is this a video game?" She nodded. "It's four player if you wanna play." She offered. "Ok, you'll need to explain it to me though." I said as she grabbed two more of those devices. "Mind if we join?" She asked the others before handing me one. …

I'm good at video games. After getting used to the controller I was able to beat Cyborg fairly regularly. Though I have to admit, I kind of cheat. I charge my thumbs with dark energy so they can move faster than his. The game session served as a welcomed distraction from the stress of…well, a thousand years of hell, but I began to fell restless. I looked out the window, the sun as starting to set. How much time did I waste with these video games.

"I'm going out for pizza, anyone else want to come?" Robin asked as he headed for the door. Every titan except Raven was behind him in a matter of seconds. "Sure why not." I said as I stood from the couch, there had to be something special for them to all volunteer like that. They all looked at me with slight surprise. "Yeah, we could get you some new clothes while we are out." Terra offered. "Yes, we could give you the makeover." Starfire said happily. "Fine, but no spandex." I said after looking at the other's uniforms. "I'm scary enough as it is." I finished my joke. "Agreed." Beastboy said as we walked out the door leaving Raven alone to read her book.

"We're not after pizza." Robin said as we got to the garage. "We want to try and throw Raven a birthday party again." He explained. "After the stress of today she could use the distraction." It made sense. "Ok, every decoration needs to be either black or blue, and the cake needs to be chocolate." I advised. "What makes you say that?" Terra asked. "Black and blue are her favorite colors, and she loves chocolate." I explained. "How do you know that?" Beastboy asked, probably expecting me to say something about being in her mind earlier. "Her costume is black and blue, and she's female." I answered. "That doesn't mean she likes chocolate." Cyborg argued. "Let's do a test then, Terra, do you like chocolate?" I asked. "Love it." She answered. "How about you Starfire?" I asked the second participant. Her smile was all the answer I needed. "Oh yes, It's like eating creamy zor…." I cut her off with "See? Females love chocolate. Its genetic or something."

We all got into the T car. It then dawned on Cyborg that he didn't drive it back to the tower. "Wait, who drove my baby!?" He asked angrily. Beastboy coward behind Terra. "Me." He said, his voice sounded so small. "You!? I told you never too…" He began, but I cut him off by calmly saying. "Would you have preferred we left it at the factory in the hands of beggars and criminals?" He grumbled something as he started the car.

I don't like riding in cars, their cramped and I can't hear what's going on outside. Someone could be beat to death less than three feet away and I wouldn't know unless I saw it. Luckily it wasn't that long of a trip. We stopped outside of a building with a sign that said, 'Party Supply' above the door. I was the first one out of the car. I stretched my wings causing a series of pops to travel down my spine. It didn't take me long to realize that every eye on the street was on me. I could hear their whispers and murmurs.

"It's ok…" I said raising my hands and putting on a grin. "I'm just here to get some cake and decorative streamers, no body's going to die to…." I was interrupted by a woman's scream. It was close, but not in the crowd. "Ok…let me rephrase that." I said trying to locate the source of the scream. "What did you do?" Robin asked as he got out of the car. "Nothing, I just…" I started, but I couldn't finish. I felt…a presence.

"Run." I said realizing what it was. "Why?" Robin asked. His answer was the huge creature bursting out of the building across the street. It was the first time I had ever seen it, but I knew exactly what it was. I remembered those teeth, how they bit into my flesh. I remembered those claws, how they ripped out my organs. This was one of those beasts from the labyrinth, and the only one that I could never figure out how to stop.

It stood eight feet tall, and was six feet across at the shoulders. It had four massive arms. They all ended in large, broad blades. At the base of the blades were small, claw tipped hands. Their size made them seem weak, but I knew from experience how strong they really were. It didn't have a face to speak of. It had no eyes, no nose, no ears, just teeth. Its head wasn't much more than jaws on top of its shoulders. Its back was covered with boney plates that even my dark blades couldn't penetrate. Its legs were smaller versions of its arms making it look something like a spider.

It positioned its arms so the blades protected its stomach. "Can't I go one night without something trying to kill me?" I asked as it roared. It charged forward as the titans scrambled. Starfire threw everything she had at it, but her attacks were foiled by its armor. "Watch out for its spit." I warned her just as a large glob of it was released. She managed to dodge it. "It'll eat through your skin in a matter of seconds." I explained. Robin tossed out his freezing pellets. They had no effect, it just broke out of the ice and resumed its assault.

Beastboy turned into his giant lizard thing and charged forward. The creature lifted its blades and sidestepped the attack before bringing them down into his side forcing him to the ground. It pulled out its blades and prepared for a death blow. A large boulder hit it in the side sending it flying. "That's good, keep doing that!" I shouted to Terra as I ran to assist the injured Beastboy. I placed my hands over the gaping wounds. Because he was in shock and not feeling pain, I couldn't gather enough energy to heal him. "Starfire, I need you to break all your fingers!" I shouted. "What!?" She asked, shocked at the request. "Beastboy's in shock, I need pain to heal him!" I explained. I wasn't watching her but I could feel the pain I needed surge through her. I healed his wounds and helped him to his feet. "Your useless here, just stay out of the way." I advised before flying over to Starfire.

It was a simple matter to heal her hand, it wasn't even broken, just dislocated. "Thanks a lot." I said to her before returning my attention to the creature. "It is no pro…" She started "Ok, When Terra lets it back up, attack its head, try and keep its attention. And for god's sake avoid the spit. I'll try and rip out its guts when you have it distracted." I instructed. "I shall do my best." She responded and readied herself. I flew down to Robin who was already pulling out his communicator and calling Raven.

Before he could say a word I snatched the device away from him. He yelled something at me, but I had more important things to do than listen to him. "Raven, Your father's cult summoned a demon to kill us. Its most likely an attempt to draw you into an ambush so stay at the tower. " I told her. "Robin, Cyborg, and Beastboy are on their way to you." I finished and closed the communicator. Robin didn't move, he just stared at me. "Unless you have a better plan get going." I said trying not to sound like a complete ass hole. I relayed our plan to Terra as they got in the car.

"Starfire's going to distract it as I rush in as try to hit its stomach. You stand by with a big rock and hit it after I'm clear. Try to get it off me if I fail." I explained her part. She slammed another rock into it keeping it down. "What about Beast…" she began as she lifted another rock. "He's going back to the tower to ensure Raven's safety." I explained.

The rocks stopped and the flashy explosions began. It quickly climbed to its feet, as though it didn't even feel the star bolts. It began to charge me, but it instantly stopped when one hit it directly in its mouth. It turned and began engaging Starfire by spitting its corrosive goo. It only got off three shots before a rock the size of a large dog lodged itself firmly in its teeth. Nice shot Terra.

I ran up on its right side, trying to stay low. It kept its arms covering its underbelly as I approached. Drawing its attention now would mean certain death. It raised its arms slightly as it crushed the rock in its mouth, giving me a small window of opportunity. I thrust my hand between its arms and drove a dark blade into its underbelly. It flailed its arms in pain sending me flying. I hit the side of a building as a large rock hit it directly in the exposed chest and carried it into a building at the end of the street.

I didn't catch it when it happened but somehow it managed to hit Starfire with a blob of acid. She was on the ground on her knees and hands screaming in pain. By the time I got to her, The skin on her torso and arm was sliding off in globs of gel. "Water!" I shouted. A rock fell onto a red…tree stump thing. Water instantly came gushing out. I dragged Starfire over to it and held her in front of the stream.

When I was sure the corrosive substance was diluted enough to be safe I laid her down on her back and pressed my hands against the exposed muscles and organs. She screamed in pain again, but it was necessary. I forced energy into her wounds, they were deeper than they looked. As her skin re-grew my vision began to fade. I sat down to rest as she sat up. It took her a second to realize that she was topless. "That's two out of three." I said quietly to myself with a slight smile. "What?" Starfire asked as she tried to cover herself. "Nothing." I said as I stood back up. "Terra, let's go make sure it's dead." I said walking toward the building where the rock had come to rest.

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Raven's POV

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I closed the communicator and headed for the door. He was nuts if he thought I was just going to sit here while a demon tries to kill my friends. I opened the front door and stopped in my tracks. Hundreds of people, all dressed in red cloaks covered the small artificial island. "The gem shall be delivered!" One of them shouted as he raised a blood stained knife to the air.

They all rushed forward at the same time. I surrounded myself with a bubble of dark energy as they got close. I pushed it outward in all directions knocking down the first few rows of them. I took flight, their knives wouldn't do them much good. I grabbed one of the cultists in a claw of energy and swung him around in a circle, knocking everyone near him away before throwing him into the bay.

Sharp pain filled my right arm. I looked at my shoulder and found a large knife protruding from it. "Now what would Trigon say if he saw you hurting his gem?" I asked as I grabbed the dagger's handle. "Trigon cares not for your health, only your soul." One said throwing another knife at me. I dodged it as I pulled at the one in my shoulder. It had a serrated blade, my efforts to remove it only resulted in massive amounts of pain.

I swept a tentacle of dark energy around the area knocking a dozen or so of them into the bay. Knives began to fly at me from all directions. I surrounded myself with a shield and watched as the blades bounced harmlessly off. I heard the roar of an engine as the T car approached from the bay. "You're in trouble now." I taunted. Some turned toward the new threat, but most focused on me.

The T car power slid as it hit land taking out a fair number of the cultists. The doors flew open and the Titans within it rushed out. Cyborg immediately began blasting away, Beastboy turned into a yeti and grabbed one of the cultists and used him as a club. Robin leaped into the air throwing multiple flash pellets into the crowd.

Our attacks seemed to have little effect. They kept getting back up and attacking with the same single minded fervor. "Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos!" I shouted, pushing a large wall of energy into a large group of cultists and slammed them into a wall of the tower. The second they hit the ground they began to get back up. "How do you stop these guys?" Beastboy asked between animal forms. "I don't know." I answered as I grabbed a large rock in my power and hurled it.

I reached for another rock as pain shot through my left leg. A cultist was holding on to the handle of the knife in my thigh. He reached up and wrapped his fingers around my throat. The pain in my leg combined with his weight on top of me caused me to fall backwards. I couldn't breathe. I tried to force him off of me with my powers but I couldn't break his grip. Fear began to work its way into my mind, followed by desperation.

I grabbed the knife in my shoulder with my energy and ripped it from my flesh, I didn't even notice the pain. I buried it up to the hilt in the cultist's head causing him to collapse on top of me. I pushed him off me with my good arm. I surrounded myself in another bubble of energy as cultists began to rush me. A sonic blast from Cyborg cleared them out long enough for robin to help me up. "I killed one of them." I said as realization struck me. "You did what you had to." He said as he threw multiple freezing pellets forming a wall of ice in front of us, keeping the cultists away.

Star bolts began to rain down on the cultists. "Starfire, your alright!" Robin yelled in relief. "What's with the sweater?" Cyborg asked blasting another group of cultists. "She had a clothing malfunction." Terra answered as a boulder came crashing down on a group of cultists leaving behind a rather messy stain. "Oops." She said realizing her mistake. "Where's the demon?" Robin asked as he threw his exploding disks into the crowd. "He caught another ride." Terra answered picking up a smaller rock. "As much as I hate to say it, we need his help." Robin finished.

Almost as if on cue the ground began to rumble. Before we could even speculate at what was the cause a huge spider…thing burst from the ground. The demon was on its back with his claws planted in the things head. "Did I miss the party?" He asked as the thing roared. Every cultist in the area rushed the demonic pair.

Spit met some, as bladed arms met others. "You should get back inside, this is going to give you nightmares." The demon said with…joy in his voice. The creature he was riding had no problem disemboweling the hordes of attackers. Those who did manage to get on its back was struck down by the demon's powers. His hands never left the creature's head.

"What's going on here?" Beastboy asked as he walked up behind Robin and me. The demon didn't answer. He seemed to be enjoying himself far too much too stop now. "He can control its mind." Terra said as she landed next to us. "If he didn't figure it out when he did I would be dead." Starfire landed next to her. "I too owe him my life." She said watching the carnage unfold.

"It's strange, such a violent creature is so…" Terra started. "Compassionate." Starfire finished. The demon's maniacal laughter seemed to contradict them. "We shouldn't be afraid of him why?" Beastboy asked Terra, she seemed to ignore him. "What the hell is he doing?" Cyborg asked as he approached, realizing he was no longer in danger. "Saving our asses." Terra said. Everyone of us diverted our eyes and said a sympathetic "Ooh." As two of the massive blades on the creature's arms was shoved up the ass of a downed cultists.

He screamed as he was lifted into the air. His screams stopped as he was ripped in half. The remaining cultists began to flee back to the boats they used to reach the island. It didn't look like there were more than ten of them left. They split into two groups and headed to two different boats. The spider creature charged one group and killed them all in a matter of seconds, but this allowed the second group to make it to the boat and shove off.

The demon just watched as they sped off. The creature raised its four massive arms before plunging the blades into its own chest. It pulled them to the side allowing all of its innards to spill out onto the ground before collapsing into the pile of gore. The demon rolled off the thing's back and took flight. He landed on the boat, but it was too far away to see what he did to them. He came back moments later covered in blood.

"That…was…" He began but noticed the knife in my leg. He grabbed it and ripped it out sending waves of pain through my body. The pain ended abruptly and I noticed he had one hand on my thigh, and one on my shoulder. "There, all fixed." He said grinning. Everyone except Terra stared at him. "What?" He asked. "Was all that…necessary?" Robin asked still supporting my weight. "Yep." The demon answered. "As long as they believe Trigon favors them they won't stop. The only way to make them question his favor is to kill massive amounts of them, and the bloodier the better." He explained. "But they were running away." Robin responded. "That means they would go sacrifice innocent people to regain Trigon's favor. Those cultists are beyond help, they will not change. Death is the only way to stop them." He responded. "Now come on, we have a party to prepare for." He said walking into the tower. "Party?" I asked a little confused.

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A/N: I decided to give the demon the power to control simple minds. If you think about it, it makes sense. Forcing someone's emotions back from the surface is a form of mind control right? And if he can do that to a powerful mind like Raven's imagine what he could do to a simple instinct driven mind like that of the spider thing.

I'm going to have to insist on reviews now, chapter 8 and only two reviews…Tell me what you think or I stop writing….maybe.


	9. Demon's Nature

(A/N: Might as well warn you, there is some alcohol and drug use in this chapter…nothing too bad though.)

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Raven's POV

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We found the demon in the kitchen washing his hands. "What are you doing?" I asked. "I'm going to make the cake. You can get started on the decorations." He said. I looked to the other titans for an explanation. "We had planned to give try and give you another birthday party." Beastboy said rubbing his neck. "I don't want a birthday party." I objected. "Good, cause we're not throwing you one." The demon responded. "Then why are you making a cake?" I asked as he got the various ingredients. "For the party." He answered.

I sighed in annoyance. "You just said…" I began but he interrupted me with, "This party is for me." He said. "You?" I asked in surprise. "Yeah, that spider thing….has killed me twenty six thousand, nine hundred, seventy eight times. I'm celebrating my revenge." He explained as he opened a cabinet and began digging through it. "This party's also for Terra, Beastboy, and Starfire, who should celebrate the fact they didn't die today. Oh, and let's not forget Robin and Cyborg. The conclusion of the shittiest day in your life is worth celebrating right? So this isn't YOUR party, it's OUR party." He finished as he grabbed a large bowl. "Shouldn't we clean up the bodies outside first?" I asked. "Don't worry, I'll take care of that." He responded.

The decorations did make the living room seem festive, though personally, I preferred it the way it used to be. Starfire on the other hand loved the new atmosphere. Terra was setting up the stereo for some music while Beastboy and Robin went out to get other things for the party. Cyborg was helping the demon in the kitchen. I busied myself making the room sickeningly happy.

"Whoo….looks like BB's got a secret." I heard Cyborg call from the kitchen. I went to see what he was talking about. He was pulling out multiple bottles of alcohol from the fridge. "You mean that green bastard's been holding out on us." The demon asked from the other side of the kitchen. "You drink?" I asked. "No, that's the problem." He answered grabbing a bottle of vodka. "Vodka huh….never heard of it." He said as he opened it. He then downed the entire bottle at once. He grimaced at the taste after lowering it. "Man, compared to mead this stuff's shit." He said. "Mead?" Terra asked as she entered the kitchen. "Fermented honey." He explained grabbing another bottle from the growing collection. "Slow down there you don't want to get piss faced before the other's get back." Terra objected as another bottle's contents were drained. "Why the hell not?" He asked beginning to sway a little.

The front door opened a few seconds after his question and Beastboy shouted, "We're back!" The demon grabbed another bottle and walked out of the kitchen. I heard him shout, "You green butt wipe, why didn't you tell me you had…..uh, what the hell is this….Whisky!" I couldn't hear his response but it was followed by both Beastboy and Robin exclaiming, "Damn! I've never seen anyone drink like that." "That's because your nothing but a bunch of tee-toting pansies." The demon responded. "I hope to god he's a happy drunk." Terra said before leaving the kitchen. …

We all decided not to give Beastboy too hard a time about hiding booze behind the tofu. It didn't seem to affect his performance in a fight so we didn't press the issue. In fact, we all partook of his guilty pleasure that night. I only had a few shots though, wouldn't want to get drunk and destroy the tower after all, but had a pretty good buzz going. The others however….had a drinking contest. The demon won despite the three bottle handicap. Beastboy and Terra dropped out early, followed by Robin then Starfire. "Sheee? What I say yoush? Panshies all o ya." He said staggering in his chair as Cyborg fell out of his. The demon placed a shot in front of me. "Come on Raisin." He said looking in my general direction, but couldn't quite target my face. "Did you just call me raisin?" "No." He answered.

The happy gleam left his eyes when they fell on Terra and Beastboy, who were making out on the couch. At first I thought it might be jealousy, but it was far more…sad. He just stood and left the room without a word. I was surprised at how straight he was able to walk. I followed him to the roof. He walked right to the edge and just stared at the lights of the city. "What's wrong with you?" I asked walking over to him. At first he just ignored me. I was about to turn around and go back inside when he spoke. "Beastboy and Terra…reminded me of something I lost." He said, without slurring once. "What was that?" I had to ask. It took him a while to respond. "I had a wife…before I died." He began. "I…can't remember her name….or where we met….or why we married….I do remember the scent of her hair, the feel of her skin as we lay in bed together. I remember spending every coin I had to buy her a single chocolate just to see her smile. I remember the tears of joy she cried when we found out she was pregnant….I remember what it was like to love and have it returned." I was slightly confused, everything he described sounded like a happy memory. "Love….something I gave my life for…" He continued after a pause. "And now….I'm a creature of hate and malice…of death and destruction."

"Look down there." He said, indicating the rocks below the tower. "That is what I am now….a blood stained battle field is all I can offer anyone." He bowed his head, I could have sworn I heard him whimper. I rested my hand on his shoulder. "That's not true." I said, though I honestly didn't believe it. "Don't patronize me." He said bitterly. "You gave Terra the chance to live her life again." I countered. He seemed to digest what I said. "The whole damned city is afraid of me even though I try my best to do good." I couldn't deny that fact. "Well then stop killing people." I suggested. "I….can't." He said. "Why not?" I asked, removing my hand from his shoulder. "It's my nature. Even now there is a part of me that wants to rip out your intestines and hang you with them."

"You have the strength to deny that part of you. You're doing it now." I tried to comfort him. "Do you know why your emotions cause so much trouble when they get out?" He asked, catching me entirely off guard. "Because I lose control of them." I responded. "No, it's because you spend so much time controlling them." He said, not making much sense. "If you have a dog, and you keep it within a fence its whole life, the second it steps outside the fence it will run. But if you allow the dog to be outside its fence often enough, it won't see the need to run because it already feels free." He said, giving a pretty good example of what he meant. "Emotions aren't dogs." I objected.

"I've seen your emotions." He said, still not looking at me. "They are dogs outside their fence and nothing more." He continued after a brief pause, "If I kept mine in like you do, it would mean the deaths of thousands of innocent people when it did get out. I have to let it out, but at least I can still choose when to do so." He was far wiser than I had thought him capable of. Up until now he had acted like a fool.

We stood in silence for a while. I couldn't think of anything to say, but I couldn't leave him like this. Something finally came to me after much thought. "You are more than your violent urges." I said finally getting him to look at me. "You saved a lot of lives today, three of them are downstairs enjoying their drunken stupidity." He sighed and looked out over the city again. "Ultimately, I'm saving people so your father can kill them later." He said, his voice sounding cold and empty. "That's no reason to stop saving them." I responded placing my hand on his. He looked at me and I saw a spark of emotion in his eyes, I couldn't tell which one though. "Maybe not, but… I'm still a monster." He said looking down at the bodies below. "This isn't about your need to kill is it?" I asked referring to his little speech about his wife.

"It is and it isn't. Terra and Beastboy awakened a longing for companionship that I had forgotten. I know it will go unfulfilled because of my…nature." There was a brief pause before he continued. "Damn them and their hormones." A joke popped into my head. I couldn't believe I was doing this, "Do you know how to make a hormone?" He looked and me in confusion. "Hit her with a brick." I finished. He just looked back over the city. "Sorry, I'm not very good at jokes." I apologized. "Oh, that one was hilarious, I just don't feel like laughing right now." He answered. "I'm going to go back inside now, you going to be ok?" I asked. "I haven't been ok in over a thousand years." He responded somberly. Something about the conversation was bothering me more than it should so I had to ask. "Why aren't you slurring your speech like you were five minutes ago?" "Because I'm not drunk, my stomach lining doesn't absorb toxins apparently." He responded, "I was just pretending so you guys could enjoy yourselves without feeling guilty." With that I went back inside.

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Demon's POV

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Why did she do that? Why did she follow me up to the roof and try so hard to comfort and console me, after everything I've done? It made no sense to me, she should hate and fear me. Why doesn't she? Maybe she can sense something I can't, like her mother did. Maybe there is hope for me. Hope…it got me through hell, it can get me through a depression. I just need something to occupy my mind.

I dove off the roof. I enjoyed the sensation of the fall and the wind whooshing past me. I landed on a broad, flat rock and rolled into a crouched position. I began my work of gathering the bodies of the cultists. I threw them into the hole formed during my dramatic entrance atop the spider. I lifted one of the cult members onto my shoulder. The sudden movement caused a book to fall out of his robes. I picked it up. The book of Skath, this damn thing seems to be following me. I set it down by the door before returning to work. I also found an interesting pair of gauntlets. They had a large red crystal on the back of the hand, and the fingers ended in claw like tips. They were covered in strange runes an symbols. I decided to keep them, putting them next to the book by the door before continuing.

I cut the head off the spider before pushing his massive corpse into the hole, I figured I should keep it as a trophy. I pushed a large boulder over the hole finishing the mass burial. It took longer than I thought it would to burry all those people. The lights of the tower were out as were its inhabitants I suspected. I walked to the front doors and found myself locked out by huge metal shutters. I tried the roof, it too was blocked by shutters. I didn't bother waking anybody to let me in or phasing through the walls, what was the point? I sat on the roof reading the book of Skath. …

Most of it was bull shit, but I did learn a few things from it. Apparently, Trigon keeps the souls he acquires through his bargains in a sort of safe. This safe is transported to whatever dimension he goes to when he transforms the land. So there was hope, at least to get back my soul. When he shows up I just need to find this safe and open it. I also learned about the makers of the gauntlets I found on one of the cultists. These were made by the ancient order of monks who imprisoned Trigon ages ago. The markings offered protection against his power, while giving them the ability to actually harm him. These cultists weren't as dumb as I thought, they all probably had such an artifact.

I put on the gauntlets. They seemed light in my hands, but after strapping the second one in place they became impossible heavy. Forcing me into a crouched position with my fists firmly pressed against the roof of the tower, no amount of struggling could cause them to move. My arms began to burn, as if they were on fire. I had suffered such pain before, so I didn't make a sound. Maybe putting on anti-demon gauntlets wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done. The heat quickly spread up my arms and then across my entire body.

I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes forcing myself not to scream as it intensified. The pain and weight ended as quickly as it had began. The sudden release of downward force caused me throw myself backwards because I was still trying to fight the weight. I stopped myself before I fell over the edge of the roof. I looked at the gauntlets, the buckles that strapped them to my wrists and forearms were gone, the gauntlets looked like a part of me. I focused my power into a blade. I was pleased to find the gauntlets did not hinder my powers at all, in fact they seem to intensify them. I moved my hand around watching the flaming trail that followed the blade with interest. "This is going to be fun." I said to myself realizing its implications.

I flew off toward the city eager to test the limits of my new powers. Unfortunately the city was peaceful, there wasn't even so much as a mugging on the streets that night. I did find some crime though, just not the violent kind. I found a guy walking alone in a bad neighborhood, he seemed agitated, always looking around him trying to see if anybody was following him. He never looked up though. He stopped next to a guy who was leaning up against a wall in a long coat doing nothing. "Hey man, what's up?" The nervous one said performing some sort of secret handshake with the other. "What you need?" The one leaning against the wall asked. "I need a nic and a dime." The nervous one responded looking over his shoulder. Some cash exchanged hands, I couldn't see what the calm one gave to the nervous one, the exchange was a handshake followed by the nervous one putting his hand in his coat pocket before walking off without saying good bye.

I dropped down in front of the man leaning against the wall. I grinned wickedly, something wasn't right here and I knew it, and he….shit himself. "Watcha doin?" I asked imitating a child, though there was nothing innocent about the question. "I ain't never hurt nobody man, please don't kill me." He pleaded. "I didn't ask that." I responded, his fear increasing my urge to kill. I forced it back, so far he has done nothing to warrant his death, but that doesn't mean I can't have some fun with him. "Just selling some green man, that it I swear." I didn't know what he was talking about. "Green?" I asked. He took off his coat, and held it out to me. "Take it, money, drugs everything, just please don't kill me." I looked at the offered jacket. "It is a nice coat." I said reaching for it. I grabbed his wrist instead and forced a small amount of energy into him. "What the hell?" He asked as he dropped the coat and snatched back his hand. "Just something to help me keep an eye on you." I said as the aura only I could see began to surround him. "I'll see you around." I said picking up his coat and taking off.

In the pockets of the jacket I found a pipe, some money, some dark glasses and some bags filled with plants. The aroma that drifted off them brought back a memory of my childhood. I was holding on to my mother's hand as she lead me down the street of the capitol city. There were groups of noblemen and merchants laughing and talking while smoking pipes. They seemed to be the happiest men I have ever seen. The smell of the smoke was very similar to the bags of plants in the pockets of the jacket.

I examined the pipe I found a bit closer. It was nothing like the ones I remember, instead of wood, it was metal. It was covered with skulls, the largest one on the top had red gems in its eyes. I shrugged pulling out a bag of 'green' as the man had called it. I filled the pipe before returning the bag to my pocket. I placed the pipe in my mouth and focused on the plants within it. A spark of fire ignited them as I inhaled. ….

I adjusted my hair so it covered my horns before putting on the jacket and glasses. The jacket came down to its previous owner's calves, but he was taller than me so it came down to my ankles, good, no one would see my blood stained pants. I was feeling good. I found it hard not to smile. I kept my hands in my pockets as I walked aimlessly down the streets. Someone grabbed me from behind and forced me against a wall. "Give me your money bitch." He said putting a knife to my throat. I couldn't help it I began to laugh. "Why the hell you laughin?" He asked. I grabbed his wrist and broke his hand in five places. He screamed in pain and backed away, dropping the knife. I picked it up. "you know, you should be more careful with these things, you could really hurt yourself." I said waving it around. Oddly, I didn't feel the need to kill him, despite the fact that he threatened my life and I have killed people for less. I unzipped the front of the jacket and spread my wings showing him the height of his folly. Folly, that's a funny word…"Oh shit." He said as realization came to him.

I kicked his ass for his transgression, but left him alive. I filled him with the same energy I filled the dealer with. "If we meet again under similar circumstances…." I let my evil grin explain the rest. "Got it?" I asked. He didn't answer, he just moaned. "Right…tootles." I said before flying off. It was a good night.

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A/N: I could have done better with the party portion of this chapter, but it really isn't that important to the story, so I neglected it a little. This chapter serves mainly to make the demon a little more three dimensional, as well as strengthening his relationship with Raven.

I got a review last chapter asking me to update…so I updated. I'll bug you guys to review again in about three chapters.


	10. Learning

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Demon's POV

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Somehow I found myself at the diner that Terra had brought me to for pie. I was glad to see they were still open. I walked in and sat down at the counter. The elderly proprietor approached taking out a small note pad. "What'll it be?" She asked not even looking at me. "Can I get some pie, Terra says it's awesome." I said, ordering the same way I did when I was here before. The combination of my voice and words sparked her recognition. "Demon?" She asked. I took off the glasses so she could see my red eyes. "Well I'll be damned." She said smiling, at least one citizen isn't scared shitless of me. "You cleaned yourself up sense last time I saw you." She said, stating the obvious. "The titans didn't want me leaving blood stains on their couch." I joked. "You're with the titans now?" She asked surprised, "I'm surprised they'd put up with your killing." She said surprisingly casually.

"They don't want to, but they don't really have much choice considering the circumstances." I explained. "What do you mean by that?" She asked. "You'll see it on the news." I answered. She went to the back and brought back a slice of pie as the front door opened. Two men and a young woman entered the dinner, all wearing long black coats and dark glasses. I took my pie and sat at a table facing the window as they approached the counter. I watched their reflections in the glass very carefully as I ate, something didn't feel right.

"We hear you're the person to talk to about demons." The taller of the two men said leaning on the counter. "One was in here a few nights ago if that's what you're asking." The old waitress responded. "Describe it to us." He said as he slid into the seat I had occupied moments before. She described me to a 'T', "He was about 6 foot tall with a slender frame and skin that looks like it's too small. He also had bat like wings and a tail like a monkey's". "Sounds like a shadow imp. But I never heard of one being so big." The young woman said after digesting my physical attributes. "imp?" I said quietly to myself, I thought imps were those little guys that crawl up your ass and claw their way out your stomach. I cringed slightly at the memory. "You guys demon hunters?" The old woman asked.

"Something like that." The young woman said before continuing, "Can you describe its behavior?" she asked. "He was actually very polite, he smiled and said please." The waitress responded. "It spoke!?" The younger woman asked in surprise. "Yeah…is that bad?" The old waitress answered. "Shit…" The young woman said turning away from the counter. "What's wrong?" The short man asked. "Its not an imp." She said as she started walking toward the door quickly. She stopped suddenly next to me. "Where did you get those gauntlets?" she asked after staring for a moment.

The two men came over to me to see what she was talking about. "Found em on a dead guy." I responded truthfully after they had a chance to see them. "Do you have any idea what they are?" The woman asked sitting across from me. "Yeah, demon slayer gauntlets forged by the ancient order of monks that imprisoned Trigon the terrible in hell." I answered as I took another bite of the pie in front of me. "How the hell do you know that?" The shorter of the two men asked, surprised by my knowledge. "It was in the book of Skath." I said after swallowing. The woman across from me quickly stood up and grabbed me by the collar, knocking over the table in the process. "How did you know about the book of Skath!?" She demanded. Again I answered honestly, "Found it on the dead guy next to the dead guy I found the gauntlets on."

She released me and looked stunned for a moment. "Show us where these dead guys are." I straightened my collar. "Not until you buy me another piece of pie." I said, being completely serious. The two men grabbed me and drug me toward the door. I twisted out of their grip and shoved myself backwards, both gaining distance from them, and considerably ripping my coat. "Well….shit." I said as I pulled the tattered remains off my shoulders. "It really doesn't have to come to this." I raised my hands slightly in a submissive posture as I spoke.

They didn't say anything in response, they instead drew their weapons, all appearing to be very old, and very painful. The tall man held a mace, the head appeared to be made of two dozen or so hook-like blades surrounding the shaft of the weapon. The short man had a short sword. It was saw toothed on one side of the blade, the other side curved into a hook halfway down the blade, obviously meant for gutting. "Why do these holy weapons look like they were forged in hell?" I asked trying to delay the hurting. My question seemed to stun them for a moment. I ran for the door before they snapped out of it.

Unfortunately I didn't make it…at least not in the way I had hoped. I was in mid air jumping over the tall one when everything went black as I felt a crushing energy around me. The energy dissipated as quickly as it set on. Before I could make sense of anything I hit the corner of a brick wall going at least seventy miles an hour. "FUCK!" I shouted as I climbed to my feet. The task was far more difficult than you could imagine, it felt like everything in my right side was broken.

The three strangers ran out of the diner across the street. "We REALLY don't have to do this!" I shouted, the effort sending waves of agony across my body. "Demon's don't typically plead for their lives." The tall man said as he crossed the street. "It's most likely a remnant," The woman said as she followed him. "They are highly unpredictable so be careful." She finished as they got to the curb on my side of the street.

I fell to a knee as they approached. I waited as they cautiously continued their advance. I mentally tracked their distance. Ten feet…five feet…The tall man brought back his arm readying a deathblow as he entered my three foot radius. As his arm brought his wicked mace down I sent a quick burst of energy into his wrist. The result was him losing his grip on the object throwing it behind me as pain shot through his arm. I healed as much of my wounds as I could before it dissipated. I was still in no condition to fight, but at least I could move.

I moved for the mace, the more weapons I had the better. The second it was in my hand my leg was filled with searing pain. The shorter man managed to impale my right leg with his sword, the teeth shredded ligaments and muscles as the hooks caught and ripped flesh. I hit him in the shoulder with the mace, burying at least seven blades into his flesh. I twisted the handle ensuring the hook-like serrations had a good hold on his muscles. I pulled as hard as I could freeing the weapon while removing a considerable plug of muscle and skin. His pain healed all my wounds except the one inflicted by the still present sword.

I threw him off me and gripped the hilt and ripped it free. The shredded flesh was extremely difficult to mend, I assumed it was because of the weapon that inflicted it. Luckily for me the pain I inflicted in response was powerful enough to fuel its re-growth. I stood, a weapon in each hand. "How can you wield our weapons?" The woman asked clutching an amulet on her chest. "Easy…like this." I said rushing forward burying the mace into the tall man's kneecap. I continued forward toward the woman, leaving the man and the mace behind me. Again I was enveloped by the strange energy. When it dissipated again I used my wings to slow myself as I flew through the air again. I managed to catch the wall with my hands stopping myself completely before falling back to the ground lightly.

"Listen to me, I don't want to kill you." I said as I turned around. I held the sword out in front of me before dropping it. "I'm not here to hurt people, I'm here to stop Trigon." I explained. She looked puzzled. "What do you mean?" She asked letting her hand drop away from the pendant I assumed was the source of her power. I ignored her as I approached the shorter man, who had passed out due to blood loss, I had ripped out some major arteries. He would die if I didn't do something. "Get away from him!" The woman shouted, gripping her pendant again. I surrounded myself in an orb of energy, forcing her power away as I knelt. I placed my hand over the wound and focused, again it was difficult to heal because of the conflicting magic in the weapon that had caused the wound. I managed to heal him, though not completely, he would be scarred for life.

The other man was in no danger of death, so I left him on the ground writhing. I turned to the woman, the only one who had not suffered my wrath. "Remember how this could have gone, but didn't." I said sourly before taking flight, leaving the confused demon hunter to tend to her fallen comrades. I didn't go back to the tower until I was sure I wasn't being followed. I sat on the roof looking over the book of Skath, I know I missed something….

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Raven's POV

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I had a troubled and restless night. Every time I would fall asleep I was assaulted by images of my father, and the destruction he would bring. I stopped trying to sleep around five in the morning. After a cup of herbal tea I decided to get some air. I was surprised to find the Demon sitting silently on the edge of the roof, staring at the city. "Did you stay up here all night?" I asked as I walked to him. "No…" He said without looking at me. I turned to go back inside after a long moment of silence.

"We need to talk." He said as I gripped the handle of the stairway door. "About what?" I asked. He responded with a list, "Me, you, your father, and how we can stop him." I sighed, if there is one thing I hate talking about its my father. "Let's start with you." I said as I walked over and sat next to him.

"I recently discovered that everything I have been doing to defy your father has actually been helping him." He stated, his voice and demeanor were very serious. "What do you mean?" I asked, growing concerned. "Let's start at the beginning. I believed that killing you in Azarath would destroy your father's chances to invade earth. Acting on this belief caused your mother to send you to earth for protection, thus fulfilling the second part of the prophecy" He took a breath before continuing. "After escaping hell and coming to earth I sought to reclaim a portion of my humanity, and reverse the corruption on my soul. This led me to try to reason with you instead of just kill you. This caused you great emotional distress which allowed Slade to inscribe the runes, thus fulfilling part three." It did seem like a pattern was forming. "Now, I've agreed to protect you, which will insure that you are nice and healthy for when the planets align three days from now." He finished, his voice was accusatory. "I didn't ask you to protect me." I said in self defense.

"Yeah, well that doesn't really matter, because as a soulless entity, I am bound to my word." He said sourly. "What?" I asked, shocked at his self description. "Things without souls can't lie, even if they want to…it's all in this book." He said handing me a large tome. "This is the book of Skath!" I exclaimed after realizing its significance. "Yeah, found it on one of the cultists." He explained. "I also found these gauntlets." He said raising his hands to show off his new attire. "They were made by an ancient order of monks who imprisoned Trigon in hell." He continued. "They give me fire powers and are capable of seriously damaging demons, but they won't come off and I can't use my claws anymore." He explained their pros and cons.

"So…you're a demon….wearing demon killing gauntlets?" I asked sarcastically. "Yeah…bit of a contradiction isn't it?" He responded. We both sat in silence for a while and watched the sunrise. "You have no idea how beautiful that really is." He said as the sun climbed above the horizon. I almost laughed. "I didn't think demons had the concept of beauty." I said jokingly. He seemed hurt by my words. "That's enough about me for now." He said, almost spitefully.

"Why do you help people?" He asked, being far more serious than I was used to seeing him. "Because of my destiny, I know I'm going to destroy this world. I want to make their lives as good as I can before I am forced to rip it away from them." I answered truthfully. He laughed, but it wasn't out of happiness or because something was funny, it was bitter and cruel. "You are truly heartless." He said after he finished. His words sent a wave of anger over me, but I forced it back. "The better their lives are, the worse hell will be for them." He finished his explanation. "I don't want them to go to hell!" I shouted at him as my anger began to grow. I closed my eyes as I tried to force the emotion back again. Since my father started preventing me from meditating, self control has been increasingly difficult.

"Stop it!" He shouted at me. "Stop what!" I shouted back, his interruption only intensifying the growing emotion. "How can you save these people if you can't even save yourself from your own emotions?" He asked, his voice was venomous. I couldn't hold it back any longer. I punched him in the jaw. How dare he accuse me!?

He responded by backhanding me, the force of the blow knocked me away about two feet. Before I could get up, he was on top of me. He pulled his arm back to strike me again. I moved my head to the side as his fist came down. It struck the roof instead. I grabbed him by the ears and pulled his head down as I brought mine up. My forehead struck him in the nose causing it to spurt foul smelling blood. I rolled us over so I was on top. I began to punch wildly at his face as he tried to protect his head with his arms. I pulled back to strike again, but his leg caught my arm and pulled me onto my back. I felt his cold metallic grip around my ankle before pain shot through my leg.

I used my powers to separate us. I threw him as I lifted myself into the air. I smiled with grim satisfaction as he struck the metal pole supporting the volleyball net. He bent backwards at the impact and howled in pain. I laughed maniacally. "Can you see now foolish creature? You are nothing compared to me!" I shouted in triumph. "Don't count on it." He said climbing back to his feet. "You dare feed off me!" I yelled realizing why his back wasn't broken. "Yes, and you are delicious." He said with a grin. His audacity caused more rage to seethe from within me.

I sent out tentacles of dark energy to crush the life from his pitiful body. He rushed forward striking at the tendrils of my energy with a flaming blade of his own. His newfound powers seemed to disrupt mine. I quickly became frustrated as he closed in on me. I sent out a claw of energy as he leapt into the air toward me. It hit in the dead center of the chest and pinned him to the roof. I prepared to deliver the final blow. I copied him, forming a blade of energy and sending it directly at his head. He avoided the attack by sinking into the roof. Before I could react to this change in circumstances I felt great pain in my hips. Somehow he had managed to get behind me and dig his clawed toes into the flesh on my hips. He grabbed me by the shoulders as we fell and opened his wings slowing our rapid descent.

Even with him slowing our fall, I still hit the roof hard. The abrupt landing combined with his weight on top of me robbed my lungs of breath. He got off me as I gasped for air. I climbed to all fours, still struggling for breath. I exhaled what little air was left in my lungs and held my breath, relaxing my agitated diaphragm, before inhaling again. I was completely drained, both mentally, and physically. I could fight no more.

"Feeling better now?" The demon asked standing over me with a smile. "I'm tired, bruised, cut, and sore." I responded sourly. "But you're not angry anymore are you?" His question surprised me, as did my answer. "No." It was the truth, all the seething anger and rage had completely dissipated, leaving contentment in its wake. "Neither am I." He responded as I felt his heavy hand on my back. My body was filled with warmth. He helped me to my feet, there was still some pain in my ankle but it wasn't serious. "Like I said, just let it out every now and then and you'll feel a whole lot better." He explained the purpose of the fight. "We can continue our conversation over tea if you'd like." He offered. "Ok." I accepted. It was odd, the connection I felt with him seemed to be strengthened by our fight. "Anytime you need a punching bag…" He began, as we walked toward the door to the stairs. "Use Beastboy." He finished his joke as he opened the door. I laughed freely, and for once, I embraced the emotion.

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A/N: Sorry for the wait, there's a whole list of reasons, so I'll pick my favorite. Shit happens.

So…Raven has learned something from the demon and the demon learned something about himself. Hope it was worth the wait, but I doubt it is.


	11. Girl Problems

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Demon's POV

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"Kind of bitter." I said grimacing after taking my first sip of the herbal concoction Raven called tea. "Takes some getting used to." She admitted. There was a moment of silence, neither of us really wanted to talk about Trigon, but it was necessary. I was about to speak when Raven broke the silence with, "How does he control you?" It was a good question, but I couldn't really give her an answer. "I'm not really sure." I confessed. "It's like…I still have free will…kind of…." I struggled to explain my very limited understanding of the situation. "It seems like I'm doing what he wants me to, but for my own reasons."

She didn't ask for further explanation so I assumed she understood. "It just doesn't make much sense, if he can control everything you do, why did he send his cult to attack me?" She asked. Again, another good question I couldn't answer with complete certainty. "I can only guess why Trigon does anything." I said before taking another sip of the bitter brew. "It's possible he wanted to collect their souls." I ventured, trying the think like Trigon. Slightly depressing myself in the process, that means I made him more powerful than he would have been if I had stayed in hell. She nodded in agreement, "I wouldn't put it past him." She paused as she drank from her cup.

"Don't even ask about the gauntlets, I have no idea why he would want me to have them." I said, preemptively responding to the unasked question. "Will they help us fight him?" She asked instead. "I find it hard to believe that he will let me get close enough to use them." I answered grimly. She seemed to be disappointed. "So…what now?" She finally asked the question I've been asking myself all night.

"Well…I'm not sure." I confessed. "Given the nature of my condition, should I be doing anything at all?" I asked. So far I've only helped my enemy, noninvolvement might be my best option. "It's a little too late to back out now." She said sourly. "Well, I can't really be trusted can I?" I asked. "You can be trusted to do what is right." She responded. "But so far…" I began, but Raven interrupted me. "So far, you saved Terra, risked your life to protect us, pulled Starfire back from the brink of death, and helped me regain control of my emotions…you have earned our trust." She said passionately, putting things into perspective.

Terra entered the room, she seemed distant. "Morning." I greeted her as she crossed the room. She didn't seem to hear me. She sat down and stared blankly at the table in front of her, apparently deep in thought. I glanced at Raven who just shrugged. I waved my hand in front of her face, snapping her out of her trance. She glanced around in confusion before forcing a smile. "Sorry, I've got a lot on my mind." She said, avoiding a true explanation.

Raven and I silently agreed to postpone the rest of the conversation. It would only cause unnecessary strife to involve the others…for now at least. A silence descended upon us, broken only by the sounds of our cups. Something didn't feel right about the situation. I shifted my gaze between the two girls, both were deep in thought. "So…have fun last night?" I asked Terra after the silence became unbearable. The look she gave me made me regret the question. "Don't ask about last night." She said sourly before lowering her face back to the table. Again we were beset by a horrible silence.

"Can we talk?" Terra asked after what seemed like an eternity. "Sure." I answered, eager to end the torturous quiet. "Privately?" She added after a pause. I followed her from the common room toward her bed room. She opened the door and beckoned me inside. I looked around at her elaborately decorated walls, appreciating the sense of openness and calm they promoted. "My room is just plain white." I complained trying to lighten the mood. She ignored my comment and closed the door behind herself as she entered the room.

"So…what's up?" I asked, trying the shake the unease that crept below my skin. She took a moment to organize her thoughts before she spoke. "What are you going to do after all this Trigon stuff is over?" She asked. "If I'm still alive you mean?" I asked, stalling for a chance to think. "Yeah…" She answered, calculating the odds of survival. "I'll most likely leave. I don't see much reason to stay, the city was better off before I got here." I answered truthfully. "Can I come too?" she asked. "I suppose…but what about Beastboy?" I responded. "I…I can't stand being around him anymore." She said after a long pause.

I was a little confused, last night she had her tongue down his throat. "It's hard to explain. It…just doesn't feel right anymore." She began. "Since I saw him again in the factory I've felt…sick. Every time I see his face I'm reminded of the things I did to hurt him…and it makes me feel like I'm dead inside." She finally explained her problem. "I thought that those feelings would go away after a while, but they haven't. They've only gotten stronger." She said lowering her head. "Last night… we had sex…and it was the most horrible experience of my life." She said, pausing as she fought back tears. "I felt like I was going to puke afterword." I didn't know what to say. Something was making me giddy, I wanted to joke and say something along the lines of, 'Well if you want me teach him a few tricks…' but the seriousness of the situation forbade it. "I don't know what to do…" She said hiding her face behind her hands. "I don't want to hurt him anymore…but I can't stand to stay with him."

"Does he know how you feel?" I finally managed to ask. "He knows there's something wrong, but he doesn't know what." She answered. "Well, I think the first step would be to tell him about this." I suggested, I still didn't understand what any of this had to do with me. "I was hoping you could tell him." She said, looking me in the eyes. "Why would I do that?" I asked. "Because you like hurting people." She answered. I opened my mouth to argue but the words wouldn't leave my throat. I closed my mouth and took a deep breath before trying again to no avail. I gave up arguing and just said, "No."

She slid down the wall and sat hugging her knees as she began to cry. I realized why I was feeling giddy, I was feeding off her distress. I was disgusted with myself. Here she is bearing her heart and soul to me looking for guidance and I'm feeding off her. I sank down beside her. "I know how you feel." I said as I put an arm around her, trying to comfort her. She looked at me with puffy eyes. "I hate my ravenous nature. I hate how I feed off of the slightest pains, no matter who is hurting or why." I looked her in the eyes before continuing. "I hate how I can look into the face of a crying girl, and feel nothing but hunger." I turned away from her and took back my arm. "Sometimes it feels like all that is good within me is dying, leaving behind a heavy darkness that pulls me down into the emptiness of my own heart." I said, trying to put into words the true feeling of despair that never seemed to leave. "How do you handle it?" She asked. "I don't." I answered, "I endeavor to change."

She wrapped her arms around me and rested her head on my shoulder. The sudden act of affection caught me off guard, I wasn't used to it. I returned the embrace, hoping the simple gesture would somehow make her feel less alone. I found the warmth of her body combined with the scent of her hair rather soothing. "I don't want to hurt him anymore…" She whispered in my ear after a rather long period of silence. "I know, but if you ignore this it will consume you." I whispered back, speaking from experience, "The only advice I can give is, do what feels right, even if it hurts." I lightly squeezed her shoulder before releasing her. I stood and opened the door. "what should I say?" She asked before I could make it out into the hall. "Just what you told me." I responded.

I stepped into the hall just as Beastboy was leaving his room. "What were you doing in Terra's room?" He sounded angry. "She wanted to talk." I responded calmly. For once I actually wanted to avoid conflict. "What did she want to talk about?" He asked, still sounding peeved. "You." I answered, realizing now how improbable a peaceful resolution was. "Why didn't she just come to me?" He asked, looking at me as though I had the plague.

I sighed heavily. "I really think it's best if Terra tells you about it." I said, attempting to find an escape. I turned my back to him and began walking toward the common room. I heard him knock on her door. "Beastboy is going to hate me." I said as I entered the common room. "Why do you say that?" Cyborg asked from the kitchen area. "Because right now Terra is breaking up with him." I responded. "Why would she do that?" Robin asked from the table. "Because I told her to." Raven asked, "Why would you…" I interrupted her with the answer. "Because of what she told me."

I heard something large and powerful running down the hall. I heard Terra scream after it, "Beastboy stop!" I walked to the side of the door just as it exploded from its frame. A huge green werewolf like creature landed in front of me and looked around the room in confusion. "Behind you." I said, causing it to spin around to face me. I might not want to fight, but I'm not going to run and hide.

It howled in rage before launching its attack. I rolled out of the way at the last moment, making it run head first into the cold metallic wall. The wall didn't even phase him, he spun with his arm outstretched hitting me in the jaw with a powerful backhand that sent me flying through the air. I landed on my stomach, a bad position to be in during a fight. I rolled over just in time to see it sailing through the air toward me.

I threw my arms up to protect myself. I caught its right wrist in my left hand, and put my right forearm in its mouth. The metal of the gauntlet protected me from the crushing force of the jaws, as well as the wicked teeth. I put both my feet against his stomach and pushed, throwing him off me. He landed on all fours and rushed at me again. I managed to get to my feet before he collided with me, lifting me off the ground as he carried me.

We crashed through the window, and fell toward the rocks below. As we fell he clawed viciously at my body, ripping free large strips of flesh. I punched him as hard as I could in the right shoulder, causing him to roll in the air. He landed on his back, and I landed on his chest. I tried to get some distance from him so I could heal, but he grabbed my ankle causing me to trip. He pulled me toward him, the rough rocks scraping at my exposed nerves.

His other clawed hand buried itself in my back. He lifted me from the ground and flung me around like a rag doll. I sent out a wave of energy in all directions, separating us. I stood as he landed. This time I was the one who rushed forward. He swung his arm in a wide arch, attempting to slash at my stomach. I rolled under the attack and threw a fiery uppercut as I rose again. The attack knocked him up into the air. I quickly grabbed his ankle and spun in a circle before releasing him and sending him flying toward the tower.

He managed to right himself and hit the wall with his feet instead of is head. He launched himself at me again. I jumped up and caught him by the ears and folded myself like a taco, digging my clawed toes into the flesh on his arms. I controlled his arms with my legs while pulling his ears, keeping his gnashing teeth away from my throat. "Don't make me kill you." I pleaded as we struggled. My words were lost on him, I doubted he could even understand.

He managed to free his left arm, and grabbed my leg. He flung me around, slamming me into a rock repeatedly. Somehow he lost his grip as he pulled back for the fifth time, sending me flying over his shoulder. The assault left me with broken ribs, and a badly sprained ankle. I watched as he charged at me again. Terra jumped between us, and stretched out her arms. "Beastboy, That's enou…" Her sentence was cut short by a vicious backhand from her former lover. I didn't see where she landed, or even if she survived, I was too busy sinking flaming blades of energy into both his thighs.

It howled in pain as its fur ignited. I healed my ankle as I rolled away, the pain in my chest from the broken ribs was enormous, but I've lived through worse. He managed to put himself out by the time I regained my footing. I jumped backwards as the frenzied beast lunged again. It buried its claws into the ground instead of my flesh. I took the opportunity to jump onto his back. After freeing his claws from the ground he reached back to attempt to pull me off. I caught his wrists and pulled as hard as I could, dislocating his shoulders. Keeping both his wrists in my hands to steady myself, I proceeded to stomp on the back of his head. I don't know how many times my foot came down, but it wasn't long before he fell forward.

I rolled off his back as he did. As soon as my feet were on the ground again, I turned around and grabbed him by the bottom jaw. After dislocating it I began to strike him repeatedly about the face as hard as I could. As I pulled back for about the tenth time I heard someone shout, but I couldn't understand what they said. I looked over my shoulder to see Raven with a look of horror on her face. I turned back to face my enemy and instead of the snarling werewolf, it was an unconscious Beastboy, his weight entirely supported by muscles and skin in his face. I released his jaw and let him fall limply to the ground. It was then that I was aware of the blade of energy protruding from my tightly clinched fist, had she not stopped me, he would be dead now.

A wave of disgust and anger washed over me as I stared at the limp green boy. Every cell in my body was screaming for a deathblow. I heard voices, all pleading me to finish him. The longer I ignored them, the louder they got. "No!" I shouted at the voices in my head as I backed away from Beastboy. My head began to throb with pain, as the voices grew even louder. I fell to my knees, and clasped my hands over my ears trying to drown them out, but they only got stronger. The world began to go dark as I continued to fight my violent urges. I took flight and headed for the city, trying to distance myself from my friends before the growing darkness consumed me entirely.

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A/N: I took a break from writing during the holidays, just didn't have time. I figured I should post a somewhat shorter chapter just so you know I haven't forgotten about you.

Anyway, next chapter is going to focus on the Demons evil side…so…yeah. As always, I eagerly await your reviews.


	12. Dark and Wicked

A/N: This is probably the most aptly named chapter ever.

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Raven's POV

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The demon took off like a bat out of hell. I immediately ran to Beastboy's side. My stomach churned when I saw the true extent of the damage. His face was caved in on itself, both his arms were broken, and his lower half was covered in third degree burns. Every breath he took was labored and accompanied by a gurgle. "What the hell happened?" Cyborg exclaimed as he hoisted an unconscious Terra over his shoulder. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted him!" Robin shouted as he exited the base of the tower. I didn't know what to say. I didn't even know how I was supposed to feel. Should I feel betrayed that the demon severely injured my friend, or angry at Beastboy for doing something so insanely stupid?

I decided to withhold my judgment until I knew more about the situation. Right now, I have work to do. I gently lifted Beastboy's limp body, being careful to not move his head or neck. I took him to the medical facility and laid him on the bed closest to the window. Cyborg laid Terra on the bed next to him. "I'll take care of them while you find the demon." I said, dismissing Cyborg. I honestly didn't know where to begin, or if I was even capable of healing such grievous wounds.

After twenty minutes of exhausting work I collapsed into a chair in the corner. I was completely drained, and I had only managed to relocate his jaw and stop his internal bleeding. I listened to the radio chatter of the others while I rested. Unfortunately they had absolutely no idea where to start looking. "He would most likely be drawn to a source of immense pain, or death." I suggested. They argued over possible locations to search such as homeless shelters, bars, and the prison. Terra groaned in discomfort but didn't wake up. "Try the hospitals." I suggested realizing how perfect it was. Hospitals were literally full of the sick and dying , it would be like an all you can eat buffet.

After taking a ten minute rest I resumed my work of attempting to heal Beastboy. The exertion almost made me pass out. "How the hell can he do this so easily?" I asked myself as I rubbed my temples, trying to sooth the quickly growing headache. I sat back down and tried to relax a little, I wouldn't do much good if I collapsed.

Just as I was beginning to relax, my communicator went off. I said nothing as I opened it. "How's BB doin?" Cyborg asked. "This is a little out of my league." I confessed. "I'm on my way." He responded. "Find the demon." I instructed. My voice was more aggressive than I intended. "I can't heal him, but he can." I finished, hoping he would listen. After a moment of silence he asked, "You alright?" "I'm tired." I answered truthfully.

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Corruption's POV

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Finally, after a thousand years of waiting. The savage fight with what 'The Demon' considered to be his friend, caused his mind to enter a state of complete disarray, giving me the opportunity to finally come forward and take control. I landed on the first roof I saw and quickly entered the stairwell. I knew the others would come looking for me so I had to lay low. I didn't finally take control only to have Raven rip it away from me.

I waited for an hour before venturing outside again. I found a drunkard sitting alone against a wall in an alley way. He noticed me as I approached. He opened his mouth to scream, but my hands were already around his throat. I crushed his trachea, leaving him gasping for air as I stole his jacket. He was on all fours at my feet by the time I managed to situate my wings comfortably. I tried to form an energy blade to torture him some more, but I couldn't. I gave up trying and just stomped on the back of his head, his gore covered my pant leg. I then realized the Titan's would recognize my bloody pants so I stole the bum's. I just threw them on over my current ones, they had sentimental value, every one of my victims' blood was stained into them.

I moved across the city, mainly sticking to the alleys to maintain anonymity. I avoided anyplace I really wanted to be, like the hospitals. There were so many people who actually wanted to die there, but if I was a Titan, that's the first place I'd look. Instead I hid in a subway air vent. It was hot, cramped, and miserable, but it was safe. While in my little hiding spot I couldn't help but wonder how Beastboy was faring. I hoped he was dead, oh what marvelous sorrow that would cause. I made a mental note to go back to the tower to make sure. That's one of the many lessons of hell, never assume. I wanted to wait until night fall, but I couldn't quite manage it.

Apparently there were sensors that alerted somebody to a clog in the ventilation system, because someone just had to come and disturb me. Needless to say it was the last thing he did. As soon as he removed the grate separating us I reached out and grabbed him by the jaw and pulled him into the vent head first. My unique skeletal structure made it easy for me to maneuver in the confined space. I positioned him in such a way that his screams were muffled by my body as I broke various bones in his body before ending his futile struggle by breaking his neck.

I slid out of the vent leaving him where he was. As soon as my bare feet hit the ground I noticed two children, somewhere between the ages of five and eight staring at me. "Nothing feels better than a good hardy har-har right kids!" I say as I plaster an overly eccentric smile to my face and cock my head to the side. They screamed and ran away toward their mother. An armed security guard heard the children's screams and came running to investigate. I could have easily killed him, but not before he called for help.

Instead I jumped onto the tracks and ran down the tunnel. Before long I heard a rumbling noise and saw a bright light heading toward me. I flattened myself against the wall opposite the track it was on. As soon as the engine had passed I leapt onto the roof of the train and made my way to the front. I swung down into the open window. "What the?" The guy driving the train exclaimed. I grabbed him and threw him against the wall opposite of the instrument panel, I didn't want him hitting the brakes, or signaling the passengers. I grabbed him by the wrists and pinned him against the wall. I slid my wings down under my arms and thrust the claw-like tips into his torso. I continued to push my wings into him and moved them upwards toward his throat. I watching with grim amusement as the bulge moved up his chest and to his neck. I hooked his tongue with both wings and pulled as hard as I could, ripping it to shreds. I enjoyed every second of his agony as I continued ripping apart various organs in the same, gruesome manner. I continued until I saw the spark of life leave his eyes, and I greedily absorbed the energy created as his tortured spirit was ripped away from his body.

I pulled my wings from the cadaver and let it fall. I turned to the instrument panel. I had no idea what any of the various buttons, levers, and dials were for. So, I started randomly pushing and pulling them. The train began to increase in speed. I stopped doing stuff to see if the train would continue to speed up. It did, so I jumped off and watched it derail as it turned a sharp corner. I was greedily feeding off the pain of the countless passengers as a second train crashed into the wreckage. "Time to go." I said to myself realizing this level of carnage would certainly alert the Titans.

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Raven's POV

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I was running my fingers through Beastboy's hair. I couldn't help but feel responsible for his current condition. If I hadn't accepted the demon's deal this would have never happened. The guilt I felt quickly began to grow. I tried to hold back the tears, but I couldn't. They began to stream down my face as I finally broke down into sobs. "I'm sorry." Was all I could say between sobs.

The alarm signaling trouble went off, causing me to almost jump out of my skin. I ran to the living room, wiping the tears from my eyes. A map of the city's subway system was on the television. The flashing red dot indicated the position of the wreck. I raced out the door, praying that the demon would be drawn there.

As I flew toward the crash I scanned the ground for signs of the demon. Sadly, I found none. I landed on the street directly above the accident. I phased through the street and into the subway. The others were already there. I was thankful for the dark, the other's wouldn't notice I'd been crying. I got right to work without a word. One by one I covered the injured passengers with my cloak and brought them to the surface where the paramedics could reach them easily. Cyborg and Starfire were sifting through the wreckage in search of more survivors as Robin searched for clues to the cause of the wreck.

When all the survivors were rescued I returned to the others. Cyborg was carrying the body of one of the engineers. "Check this out." He said, summoning us to him. He pointed out two small holes in his torso. Beyond that, there were no exterior signs of trauma. "Think it's the demon?" Robin asked as he crouched next to the body for a better look. "No, it doesn't fit his style." I answered. "Our demon likes to rip people apart, and I highly doubt he would know how to derail a train." I emphasized the word our, we've already seen more than one demon already. "I think this is the work of an entirely different entity." I finished.

"Great, now we have two problems." Robin said as he stood. "How's Beastboy?" He asked, although he already knew the answer. "He's stable, but I'm too weak to do anything else." I answered, lowering my head slightly in shame. "And Terra?" I got so worried about Beastboy I had forgotten about her. "She took a good hit to the head, I don't think she'll be awake anytime soon." I said, being as honest as possible.

"Ok then, Raven, Cyborg, you guys search for the Demon; Starfire and I will try to track down this new threat." He said, giving us our assignments. We all waited for him to say it, he gets kind of annoyed if we don't. "Titan's GO!"

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Corruption's POV

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I was walking down the street with my hands in the pockets of the coat, leaving the carnage of the subway behind me. I turned away as I saw Robin's bike turn a corner. He passed me without even slowing down. I picked up my pace, trying to inconspicuously put distance between us. When I felt it was safe I took to the air. I landed on the other side of the city. The buildings here were short, only two stories, and each sat on a plot of neatly cut grass. Some had manicured flower gardens lining little walkways made of pebbles. It seemed so…peaceful. This is going to be fun.

I looked through the window of the closest building I saw a kitchen area, and beyond it, a living room. Not too dissimilar from the Tower. I ran along behind the houses, until I found one that was occupied. I could hear coughing coming from a partially opened window. I held my breath as I peeked through it. I saw a woman sitting on a bed with fluffy pink blankets in a room with pink walls with white bunnies on them. I noticed that under those fluffy pink blankets lay a young girl, she looked flushed with fever.

"You want some chicken noodle soup?" The mother asked her daughter. The girl only nodded. The mother smiled before standing and walking out of the room. I silently entered the room through the window. Staying flat against the floor I crept silently toward the bed. I had no intention of harming the child, oh no…my plans were much more hellish.

I placed a hand over her mouth so she couldn't scream as I placed my other hand over her eyes. I forced myself into her mind, and quickly subdued it. The feeble mind of a five year old cannot hope to withstand my might. I released her as she twitched violently. When her eyes finally snapped open they were a solid black. She got out of bed and put on some bunny slippers.

I followed her down the hall. She went into the kitchen where her mother was boiling a pot of soup for her. I ducked down behind the wall separating the kitchen and the living room. I could see them from a reflection in a microwave sitting behind the dining room table. "What is it sweetie?" the mother asked in a soothing tone. The girl didn't answer, instead she grabbed the handle of the pot of boiling noodles and slung it on her mother.

The woman fell backwards screaming. She landed in a sitting position in front of the dishwasher. The girl quickly opened the dishwasher door, slamming a corner of it into her mother's skull, before reaching inside and grabbing a knife. She buried it in her mother's heart. Having completed my program her mind returned to its previous state. "Momma!!!" she cried as her mother uttered her death moan. "Momma!" She screamed again as she pulled at the knife trying to remove it, but she was too weak, and it was too slick with blood. I left her there, crying out for her dead mother and with no memory of me.

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A/N: I hope I managed to make Corruption evil enough. I'm trying to put Slade's evilness to shame.

I would like to take the time to thank all of you who took the time to leave a review. I'm honestly surprised at how well this story is being received.


	13. Corruption sucks

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Corruption's POV

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The incident with the little girl and her mother gave me an idea. I could do the same thing to the Titans using that green blob formerly known as Beastboy. All I would have to do is break into the tower with false intentions of healing the dumbass then corrupt his mind. I doubted his would be much stronger than that of a little girl.

I took flight back toward the tower. When I arrived I let myself in through the roof. I searched the tower thoroughly. I was delighted to find that I was alone. I made my way to the medical room where the changeling rests. "This is going to be great." I said to myself as I approached.

I used the energy I had stored from my previous murders to fix what was broke. The effort was more draining than I had anticipated. I pressed on anyway. After reshaping his face and connecting the nerves I opened a connection between our minds. The moment the connection was made I felt something pass between us, from me to him. Our connection was suddenly shattered before I had a chance to do anything. His eyes snapped open, his irises were blood red. I realized my mistake.

Because I had used so much energy in the healing process, my predecessor had managed to escape the mental bonds I held him in. That is what I felt surge through the mental link. His eyes narrowed as they strained to adjust to the light. I took the opportunity to wrap my hands around his green throat. He responded by kicking me in the face repeatedly. I was forced to let go. It seems his little green legs are far stronger than they appear.

As I stumbled backwards he leapt out of the bed. He sailed through the air over my right shoulder, catching my head in the crook of his arm as he did. His weight combined with the fact that I was already off balance caused me to fall. I landed flat on my back, and he landed on his side. He quickly released me and rolled out of my reach. I jumped back to my feet. We began to circle each other, both looking for the perfect opportunity to strike.

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Demon's POV

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_"What the hell is going on?!"_ Beastboy's voice screamed in my…err…his head. _"Need your body for a second."_ I responded, careful not to take my eyes off…um…me. _"Well, you can't have it!"_ He shouted. _"Shut up, I'm saving your life."_ I explained. Corruption launched his attack before Beastboy had a chance to answer. Apparently I gave some hint of my distraction. As a result a heavy metal fist landed squarely in our stomach. By exhaling sharply I managed to keep the wind from being knocked out of us.

He pulled back his other arm to strike. I dodged under his arm as he threw it forward wrapping our left arm around it and hitting my former elbow with the palm of our right hand. Unfortunately I didn't manage to hit it quite right and failed to break or dislocate the limb. I quickly released my former body and jumped backwards, out of the reach of a potential counter attack.

The best way for a little guy to fight a big guy is with effective use of grappling. "There is no way you are going to get me with that grappling crap. I know all your tricks." He informed me. So I had to come up with some new ones on the spot. Luckily I am rather good at that. I lowered my arms, dropping my guard. This provoked an attack, just as I had planned. As he rushed forward I pulled Beastboy's scrawny right arm as far back as I could. I then flung it forward, throwing all of Beastboy's weight right into my kneecaps. I heard the most glorious snapping sound as my former knees bent backwards sending my old body tumbling across the room and crashing into a metal cabinet full of medical supplies.

As I stood I noticed an extremely odd sound. "Are you….crying?" I asked Corruption. Indeed he was. Apparently he couldn't take pain quite like I could. It did make sense. I was the one who suffered through thousands upon thousands of torturous deaths, not him. I learned how to block it out and work through it. He had no such experiences to draw upon however. "You bitch ass pussy." I insulted, careful to keep my distance. My wings could still be dangerous if I got too close. "But it really hurts!" He cried. I found it funny, and somewhat depressing that he had been able to best me in my own mind. I left the room laughing. I went to find something to strike him with.

I found a club in Beastboy's room with the words, "Lewisville Slugger" written on the side. After taking a few practice swings I decided that it would work quite nicely. I returned to the cry baby and gave him something to cry about. I beat him ruthlessly, breaking as many bones as I could. _"Now, I'm all for beating the shit out of you, but don't you need your body?"_ Beastboy asked. _"Oh yeah, I forgot about that."_ I responded and stopped my assault. I crouched over my bruised and broken form and gave Corruption my demands. "I will cause Beastboy enough pain to heal you, if you immediately surrender the body to me. " I knew that Corruption didn't have a soul either, so if he agreed he would be bound to the words. _"What!"_ Beastboy objected. _"Come on, you can take one for the team can't you?" _I responded. _"But you're not part of the team!"_ He responded. He did have a point. _"How about Terra? Don't you find it odd that she is still unconscious?"_ I tried a new tactic. There was silence. _"Fine, but I doubt you will ever get him to agree."_ He finally answered. _"Watch me."_ I said with a grin. I slammed the bat down against the corner of the cabinet snapping it in half. "Time for some real fun." I said as I slowly lowered the jagged, splintered wood toward my eyes, which for some reason were entirely black.

"Alright!" he shouted. "Dormancy was far better than this shit anyway." With that, I jammed the wood into Beastboy's shoulder and twisted it around. I could hear him scream in his mind, but I didn't even grunt. "That's how you take pain you sissy." I demonstrated to my still sobbing counterpart. Loud popping and snapping sounds filled the room as my body reassembled itself. I continued to work the bat around, tearing ligaments and stuff to fuel the process. Before I was healed enough to stand I placed Beastboy's good hand over my forehead. I opened a link to my body and climbed back into it.

Upon reentering my body I realized just how much damage I did as Beastboy. Not only were my bones broken, but many of my organs had started to fail. Luckily, Beastboy was kind enough to twist the bat every now and then. I was pretty sure he was trying to pull it out. When I was able I stood. I grabbed the bat and ripped it from his shoulder. I placed my hand over his wound to heal it, but he stopped me. "Her first." He said, pointing to Terra.

"Ok." I said, and then left the room. I returned with a glass of water. I simply threw it in her face and she groaned as she opened her eyes and sat up. "YOU SON OF A BITCH!!" Beastboy yelled from behind me. "It's not my fault you're an idiot." He continued to say mean and hurtful things, but I wasn't paying much attention. I had a terrible crick in my neck for some reason.

"You done?" I asked when there was a moment of silence. "Yeah, I'm done." He said after a sigh to calm himself down. "Would you mind explaining what the hell just happened exactly?" He asked as I worked to repair his arm. "I fell under the control of Corruption." I explained. "You can think of it as a mental parasite I picked up in hell. It took advantage of my state of confusion over your unprovoked attack and took control." He gritted his teeth as I pressed on his wound to create more pain to work with. "Don't try to blame this on me." He objected. "But it is entirely your fault." I said calmly. I smiled inwardly, I wouldn't have been able to say it if it wasn't true.

"How is it entirely my fault?" He asked angrily, pulling his newly regenerated arm away from me. "Well it isn't Terra's fault if that's what you are insinuating." I said. I knew it wasn't, I was trying to see if he was dumb enough to attack me again. A fist collided with the back of my head. I turned to look at Terra, who was responsible for the attack. "Stop picking fights." She demanded. I lowered my head in a submissive gesture. "Yes ma'am." I said before raising it again.

Beastboy seemed to notice that no one else was in the tower. Honestly I didn't know how we managed to get thorough the entire fight before he realized that, seeing as how no one came to our aid. "Where is everybody?" He asked. I shrugged. "No idea, they should be back pretty soon though." I said. There was an awkward moment of silence. "Wanna play some Robo Rumble?" He asked, breaking the silence. "Sure." I replied, and we all headed into the living room for some video game goodness.

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Raven's POV

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We have been searching for hours, and all we could find was the occasional body. None of which matched the Demon's preferred method of killing. I was suddenly overcome with the fear that we wouldn't be able to find him. I landed in an alley and leaned against a brick wall. A trash can exploded beside me as I began to cry. I began to think I would never see Beastboy's smiling face again. I would never hear another of his stupid jokes. The thought effected me more deeply than I had previously thought possible. My tears increased in speed as I was overcome with fear and grief.

My communicator went off, pulling me out of my despair. I answered it. "We're heading back to the Tower to regroup." Robin said, and then paused. "Are you ok?" He asked. "I'm fine." I said, wiping the tears from my face. "See you there." I confirmed our new plan. I lingered in the alley for a minute before taking off.

When I opened the door to the living room and saw Beastboy on the couch I was overcome with sudden joy and relief. "Beastboy!" I shouted as I ran across the room and wrapped the changeling in a tight embrace that rivaled Starfire's. I broke the embrace when I realized what I was doing. I then noticed I was crying again, this time from joy. I wiped the tears from my face and pretended nothing had happened. The stunned look on his face made me laugh. "Are you feeling alright?" He asked, the stunned look only intensifying. I noticed the Demon sitting on the other side of the couch mashing buttons furiously on a controller. "Where the hell were you?" I asked. "I had to clear my head." He responded without looking away from the screen. "We've found a lot of dead bodies." I said accusingly. "Wasn't me." He said, still immersed in the game.

I opened my communicator to share the good news. "The Demon is here at the tower." I reported. "Where did he go?" Robin asked. "He said he had to clear his head." I repeated what he told me. "Did you ask about the bodies?" Cyborg asked. "Wasn't him." I said. I waited for someone to say something else. I closed the communicator when they didn't. I decided to enjoy my happy and giddy feelings before Robin returns and everything gets serious again. I flopped down next to Beastboy. "So, who's winning?" I asked.

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A/N: I wanted this chapter to be a little more light hearted than my previous chapters. I think it helps to balance out all the dark, evil, nastiness of the last one. I know its short, just figured it would be nice to let you know I didn't abandon this fic.

Sorry for the long wait, but I had other shit on my plate. School related shit to be exact. But I should be able to get some writing in more often…at least for now.


	14. Heart of Darkness

A/N: This took far too long to write. Reasons being a combination of writer's block, school work, and technical dificulties. I had to rewrite it like five times before it was any good. But I finally got it done. It's one of my favorite chapters so far. Hope it was worth the wait. Enjoy.

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Demon's POV

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Raven said something, but I didn't catch what it was. I was too distracted by the deep gashes that appeared in the ceiling when she hugged Beastboy. I had seen her express happiness multiple times since our…exercise. So it wasn't happiness that created those gashes. I think it is another emotion entirely, one tied only to Beastboy. However, I could be wrong. It could be only a matter of time before an unexpected outburst kills us all. My guess is it will be a little of both.

It wasn't long before the others arrived. Starfire was filled with joy to see her green friend well. The moment she walked through the door she wrapped him in an embrace. I fed greedily off the pain caused when his bones began crunching. "Beastboy! It fills me with joy to see you well!" She exclaimed, still in the back breaking embrace. "I…see…that." He responded, barely able to push the air from his lungs. She released him and he started gasping for air. The entire scene was quite comical.

Robin didn't share her joy. He stared at me with resentment. His posture was almost threatening. His shoulders were back, and his arms were crossed in front of his chest. I suppose I could understand his position. I did almost kill his friend and a member of his team. I found it strange how quickly he could forget all that I had already done to help them.

Cyborg was neither extreme. He was obviously glad to see that his friend wasn't a vegetable. However, he didn't seem too pleased to see me. There was a moment of silence after Starfire had finished her outburst of joy. "Well?" Robin asked sourly. "Well, what?" I asked back. His eyes narrowed a bit. "Why should we continue to allow you to be here?" He asked spitefully. I considered my answer carefully. I wanted a peaceful resolution to this unpleasantness. Strangely enough, Beastboy stood up for me. "It wasn't his fault. He lost control, just like I did." He said. Robin seemed even more confused than I was.

"Don't get me wrong, I would love to see him leave, but Raven needs him. I don't want my issues with him to hurt her." He finished his statement. Raven seemed to be touched by the statement. "He's a killer." Robin argued. I took a deep breath. It was pointless to argue that fact. He has such a definite view of right and wrong it wouldn't matter that all of the people I killed were violent criminals who showed no remorse or desire to change. Instead I tried something else.

"When I first came here I was entirely motivated by vengeance. I wanted Trigon to continue to suffer because he made me suffer. I didn't care who got hurt in the process. Then something happened. I met Terra. She was so sad, so alone. Her plight touched me, because it was similar to mine. For the first time it felt important to help someone else, if only to help. Saving her made me feel so…alive. It made me feel better than I was, something more. I still thought that killing Raven was the best way, but when she had her breakdown...I couldn't bring myself to relapse into that pitiful state of existence again. That's why I'm here in the first place, not because I'm a killer, not because I'm a monster, but because I am doing everything I can to change it." My heartfelt story seemed to touch the other Titans. Robin seemed to abandon his anger toward me.

"Why do you still kill people then?" He asked, though it wasn't accusatory. "I eat pain and death, without it I would die." My answer was the simple version, but that didn't make it any less true. "Haven't you killed enough to last you a while?" Cyborg asked. "It doesn't work like that." I tried to explain. "Then how does it work?" He asked. Apparently he has a strong desire to understand everything. "When I go long periods without feeding I begin to deteriorate. First I get this pain in the pit of my stomach, as though there is something trying to eat its way out..."I didn't get to finish my list of symptoms. Beastboy cut me off with, "We get the point. It hurts like hell. Then you die." "How long would it take for you to…" Terra began to ask. I answered her question before she finished it. "I start to feel the initial stomach pains within three hours of feeding. The pain gets exponentially worse as other symptoms develop. My guess is it would take less than a day for me to starve to death. I never really let myself go more than then eight hours without some sort of meal." I responded truthfully.

"Damn, I was hoping for a peaceful night tonight." Beastboy said. Terra suddenly perked up. "Could it be that mental parasite you mentioned is constantly draining you of the…whatever you get when you feed?" "Wait…what?" Robin suddenly asked at the mention of the word 'parasite'. I was hoping to keep that a secret from the others, but she did have a point. "I apparently picked up a parasite in hell. I'm not really sure how long I've had it, but it's been at least three hundred years. It took control this morning, but I managed to force it back." I answered, honestly I was just guessing at when I've contracted it, things happen kind of slowly in hell. "Are you sure it's mental, and not just in your brain?" Cyborg asked. I shrugged before responding. "It's kind of hard for me to look at my own brain." He smiled widely as he spoke, "It's not hard for me to!"

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Raven's POV

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I helped Cyborg strap the demon to a metal table beneath a large machine I didn't recognize. "I've been waiting for a chance to use my new…" He struck a pose as though he was advertising the large machine the demon was now strapped to. "Scana-ma-tron 9000!" It looked like he was ready to start spewing a bunch of techno babble when the demon spoke. "Can we get this over with? I don't like how happy this is making you." I held back a giggle. Cyborg's excitement quickly faded and he pushed a button on the side of the machine. "Don't move, or we'll have to do the scans again."

The machine was loud. Other than that it didn't seem to do much. After about five minutes the noise stopped and a second later the monitor showed a decent 3-d image of the demon's body. Cyborg cycled through the different images of the various organs and the systems they form. "Huh, your bowls seem to be shriveled." I was surprised when the demon actually laughed at this news. "Man, you really need to brush up on your anatomy." He said jokingly.

"Didn't you hear what I just told you?" Cyborg asked, equally as puzzled as I was. "Yeah, I have what would normally be a fatal flaw in my digestive track. Now can we get to my damned brain already?" He asked impatiently. Cyborg and I shared a glance of both confusion and concern. "Dude, you aren't right in the head." Cyborg commented as he began to cycle through the images again. "You didn't expect me to be sane did you?" He asked in response. He did have a point. I would be a little off too if I had to suffer through hell for a thousand years.

Cyborg continued to list problems he found while cycling the images. "Your liver is twice as big as it should be, your lungs are too small, and your heart is beating irregularly." This time the demon didn't laugh, but he wasn't nearly as devastated as he should have been. "My liver is too big you say? That explains why I couldn't get drunk." He said after a brief pause. Cyborg and I shared another glance of confusion. "I'll just ignore everything else." He said and continued to look for the all important brain scans. "You do that." Demon responded.

Cyborg and I studied the scans carefully, looking for the slightest abnormality. I couldn't see anything that looked out of the ordinary. "Surprisingly, your brain is perfect condition." Cyborg said after a few minutes. "Oh joy…can I get up now?" Demon asked. We unstrapped him and went to join the others in the living room. "Did you find anything?" Terra asked as soon as we entered the room.

"Yeah, he wasn't lying about not feeding. Nearly every one of his vital organs is seriously impaired." Cyborg answered bluntly. Terra paled visibly at this news. Demon tried to reassure her but seemed to have considerable trouble. "Don't worry, I'll be fff….I'll be fi…ok, guess I won't be fine, but I assure you I don't plan on dying anytime soon." He said. "Damn." Beastboy responded. Terra didn't seem at all comforted. "Either way, whatever this 'parasite' is, it isn't in his brain. That was one of the few organs that were in perfect condition." Cyborg finished. "So what now?" Robin asked.

"Well…if this thing is in his mind I could try to get it out." I offered. "I wouldn't advise that." Demon objected, "It could spread to you." "I'm aware of that, but we can't risk it taking control again. Your simply too dangerous an opponent." I reminded him. "Don't worry about it, this 'Corruption' as he calls it, is a complete wuss. I could beat him without even transforming." Beastboy said. The demon seemed to be annoyed. "First off, that was me that kicked his ass. Second, now that he knows about that weakness he'll do everything in his power to get rid of it." He said. I was confused, but decided not to ask questions. Everything should be made clear when I get inside his head. "Are you going to let me help you or not?" I asked. The sooner we got started the sooner it would be over. "Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you." He said before sitting cross legged on the ground.

I hovered in front of him in my meditative position. I began to prepare myself to leave my body. "It's going to get kind of weird." He warned. I encased my mind in my power and gave it the form of a bird. My avatar quickly crossed the space between us and forced its way into his mind. I was instantly bombarded with images, and sensations. Some were almost entirely alien to me, others were…well…unpleasant. Before I knew it the bombardment of memories were over. I had successfully infiltrated his mind.

I looked around his mindscape. The ground was blanketed by a thick fog. I was standing in the middle of a circle formed by five huge black blade-like protrusions that towered over me. The tips seemed to be covered in blood. Floating directly above me was a large building that was slowly rotating counter clockwise. This ring of blades was in the exact center of a large flat field that was walled off on all sides by steep cliffs. "I hope you wiped your feet." The voice came from behind me. I turned around and saw the demon. He was upside down, holding his body off the ground with one hand, the other was behind his back. He had the souls of his feet pressed together and his knees spread apart. He looked something like a monkey in that position. His pants were spotless and a beautiful shade of blue.

"I assume you're not the you I'm looking for." I said. "That depends, which me are you looking for?" He asked. "The real one," I answered. "We're all real." He said. I sighed in annoyance. "Ok fine, the one with the bloody pants." I clarified. "You mean hunger? He's right behind you." I quickly turned around expecting to see a savage beast bearing down on me. Instead I saw an even more twisted version of the demon violently clawing at the ground. A fountain of blood began to gush out of the wound he made in the ground. He then began to sing and dance like a young child as the blood covered him from head to toe. The fountain of blood stopped as suddenly as it had begun. "Aww…." He said, sounding like a spoiled child. He walked about twenty feet to his left and began clawing at the ground again. Another fountain of blood sprang up. "Yay!" He shouted in jubilation and began dancing again. "Okay…not what I expected." I said. "Yeah, that's pretty much all he does." The blue demon said.

"That isn't the you I'm looking for either." I said, turning my attention back to the inverted demon in blue. "Again, which me are you looking…." He began but didn't finish. "We should run now." He said instead. "Why?" I asked. He didn't answer. He just flipped onto his feet and ran like hell. I turned around and saw hunger clawing at the ground again. He grew increasingly frustrated as his attempts went unrewarded. He began to scream as he furiously clawed at the ground desperately trying to create another blood fountain. His head snapped up and his beady red eyes focused on me. "Oh shit." I said to myself. He rushed toward me screaming, his clawed hands dripping with blood.

I followed blue's example and started to run. I could hear him gaining on me. I quickly gave up running and began flying. I looked behind me as I flew. He was still gaining on me. I flew as fast as possible, but he was still gaining. I looked forward again to check for an obstacle I could use to slow him down. Unfortunately there was nothing, not even a rock for him to trip over. I looked back over my shoulder in time to see him leap toward me claws and fangs bared, ready to sink into my soft flesh. I didn't have enough time to react.

A green blur shot past me and collided with hunger in mid air. The two demons fell to the ground in a writhing tangle of limbs. I was entranced by the struggle. I wanted to continue running but I couldn't bring myself to look away. The two combatants quickly separated, both realized how vulnerable they were on the ground. The demon in the green pants began to hop up and down as he constantly shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Hunger circled him baring his fangs menacingly. Hunger suddenly lunged forward his arms outstretched grasping for flesh. The demon in green effortlessly dodged to the side and caught hunger's left wrist in his left hand. In one fluid motion he twisted hunger's arm and brought his free hand up into his elbow. There was a sickening snap as the arm bent in ways it was never intended to.

Hunger howled in pain and stumbled to his left, his right arm flailing wildly. The demon in green repeated this process on the right arm. As hunger stumbled to his right after being pulled off balance again green demon grabbed him by the head. He twisted causing a loud series of pops and cracks to echo through the valley. Hunger fell limply to the ground at the feet of my savior.

The demon in green smiled at me. "Are you alright Raven?" he asked. It took me a moment to realize that he had spoken to me. "Yeah, I'm fine." I said after shaking off the shock. "Glad to hear it." He responded. "What emotion are you supposed to be?" I asked, though I didn't really expect an honest answer. "I'm not really an emotion. I'm more of a chemical alteration." He responded. Needless to say I was a little confused. It must have shown in my face. "Your demon friend discovered that if he set fire to a certain plant and inhaled the smoke it produced his hunger ceases. I am the reason for that." He explained his grin widening.

"You mean he's high right now?" I asked in surprise. "Yeah, Terra had some under her bed. They're smoking it right now. He thought it would be easier for you if his mind was at ease seeing as how he can't be here to help you." He responded. "Why can't he be here to help me?" I asked. "He has to remain in control of the body. Otherwise the door is wide open for corruption to take over." He explained. "OK, let me get this straight. Terra has weed IN Titan's Tower?" I asked. If Robin found out he would kill her, and then send her to jail. "Yep, and you better be glad she does." He responded. "And they are smoking right now." I continued. "Yep." He answered. "How did they get away from the others to do this?" I asked. "Got up and walked." He answered. "Don't we have an infestation to clear up?" He asked, putting an end to my questions.

"Which way should we go?" I asked, returning to the task at hand. "I've only been here once before, but if I remember correctly…"He let his voice trail off as he started walking in a seemingly random direction. After taking about ten steps he seemed to disappear. I looked around wondering where the hell he went. A moment later his head poked up from beneath the thick fog. "What are you waiting for? Come on." He said, and then disappeared again. I walked over to where he had vanished and waved the fog away. Hidden beneath it was a hole about four feet in diameter. I couldn't see the bottom of it, or my druggie companion. What the hell? I might as well follow him.

I jumped into the hole. It was like a water slide, twisting and turning on itself. It was actually kind of fun. The ride ended abruptly. I was spat out of a hole and fell about thirty feet. I was expecting a painful impact but instead landed on soft cushions. I looked at my new surroundings. I was sitting in the middle of a large round bed. Crimson curtains rose from the sides and attached to a small ring suspend from the black ceiling. I found the opening in the curtain and crawled out of the bed.

The room seemed to be alive. The walls and floor were jet black with what looked like bright red veins running through them. The room seemed to quiver as I touched the floor. "I don't get many visitors." A feminine voice said. I quickly spun around and saw Terra walk around the bed toward me. It didn't take me long to notice that she was completely naked. "Terra?" I asked in confusion. "Nope, lust." The green demon said as he rounded the bed just behind her. "What am I? Chopped liver?" I asked. Honestly, I don't understand why she gets so much male attention while I'm practically ignored. "Ahh, isn't that cute? She's jealous." Lust said as she rested her head on Weed's shoulder. "Truth is we kind of think of you as a little sister." She said as she crossed the remaining distance between us, her eyes roaming over my body. I was beginning to wish I hadn't said anything. "Though I do have to admit, you have some great tits." She said with a smirk.

"Uh…thanks?" I said not really sure what else to say. She turned her attention back to Weed. "Why does he ignore me?" She asked starting to pout a little. "He still remembers what happened last time he listened to you." He responded. "How was I supposed to know that succubus had teeth in its vagina?" She asked in response. "Doesn't matter, once bitten twice shy." He said. "It's not like Terra has teeth down there, she's safe. What's more she's into him." She continued to argue. "And telling me does nothing." He countered. "Still, it's not fair." She said crossing her arms.

There was a long awkward silence. "We're looking for corruption. Do you know where he might be?" Weed asked, finally breaking the silence. "Yeah, but why should I help him? He doesn't even acknowledge my existence anymore." She said, still pouting. "Which is better, existing without acknowledgement or not existing at all?" He asked. She seemed to be thinking the question over very carefully. "Fine, but under one condition, he has to ask her out." She said finally. "I can't make that deal for him." Weed said in objection. "But she can relay my message to him." She said, moving her head in my direction. Weed looked at me expectantly. I sighed and closed my eyes focusing on establishing communication with his primary personality.

"_Lust says she knows where corruption is but refuses to help unless you agree to ask Terra out on a date"_ I relayed the message. _"Tell Lust that if you can get rid of corruption not only will I ask Terra out, but I'll start masturbating again, though last time didn't turn out so well, what with the claws and all. I could try using my tail…"_ He responded, his inner voice trailing off. _"Way too much information."_ I responded, and then severed our communication.

"He agrees." I said, summarizing our short conversation. She began to jump up and down excitedly. "This way!" She shouted and ran around the bed. Weed and I followed, finding it difficult to keep up with excited biological drive. She led us down a winding hall. She stopped in front of a large vagina that was embedded in the wall. "Through here." She said and then crawled inside it. I stared at the large orifice before me in vexation. "No." I said simply. I turned back toward the bedroom and the exit to this horrific place. Weed grabbed my cloak and pulled me into him. He then lifted me off the ground and shoved me inside like a tampon.

It was tight, wet, and hot. I tried to wriggle my way back out but I felt his hand pushing on my backside forcing me deeper. Slowly I began to realize that resistance was futile. After what seemed like an eternity of wriggling through the narrow passage I reached a dead end. I pushed on it, trying to force my way out but I was unable to find an opening. Suddenly a hole opened in the center and a slender hand grabbed mine. Lust pulled me from the passage through a spongy, elastic opening. I didn't even turn around to see what I came out off. I had the feeling I didn't want to know.

I heard Weed squeeze his way out behind me. He walked up beside me covered in secretions. "Well, that was interesting." He said looking at me with a smile. "Yeah, that's my favorite door." Lust said grinning widely. "I bet it is." I responded. "Which way now?" I asked irritably. "Well, I think corruption is that way." She said pointing to the left. I started walking in the direction she had indicated. "But we should go the other way for now." She said. I turned around angrily. "Why!?!" I asked, not really caring how mean it sounded. "We'll need Anger's help." She explained while cowering. "Would we even be able to talk to anger?" I asked. "Relax. I have a very calming effect." Weed said with a smile.

We followed lust as she led us through winding tunnels. Judging from the gouges in the walls I assumed hunger had been here recently. We stopped in front of a large red door. At least it was a door this time. Weed reached out and lightly knocked on it. The door swung open and a large muscle bound demon in red yelled, "Keep it down you little bitches. I'll skin your fucking hides!" He then realized who had disturbed him. "Oh, it's just you." He said then returned to the desk against the opposite wall. "Wait here." Weed instructed. He entered the small room, broken glass and pieces of wood crunching beneath his feet. I then noticed that anger was trying to build one of those tiny ships in a bottle.

"Anger?" Weed asked as he approached. This apparently caused anger to slip, collapsing the front end of the ship. "Look what you made me do!" He shouted, and then threw the bottle against the wall. "It's okay. You have all of eternity to make another one." Weed said in a calming tone. "What do you want?" Anger asked, still quite pissed off. "We are trying to get rid of Corruption." Weed informed him of our mission. "You made me break my boat." Anger responded, apparently not going to help us. "You're going about it the wrong way." Weed said as he scooped up the recently broken vessel. "Try building just the ship first. Once you have that down, move on to the ones in the bottles." He said as he set the pile of wood on the desk. "Besides you wouldn't know what to do if you actually finished one." He added with a smile. Anger gave a single laugh. "You're right."

"So…will you help us?" Weed asked. "Yeah, I'd rather beat something's face in anyway." Anger answered as he stood. "Is that little green dude anywhere around?" He asked. "No." Weed responded. "We gathering the others?" Anger asked as they exited his office. "I don't really think fear, sorrow, or happiness will be much help in a fight." Weed responded. Anger then noticed Lust was with us. "And what's he gonna do to help?" Anger asked. "My patented flying butt pliers technique." Lust said jokingly. At least I hope it was a joke. Anger threw back his head and laughed loudly. "That's a good one." He said slapping her on the back.

The four of us walked back toward where Lust said Corruption was. We exited the tunnels through the base of a tree in the middle of a forest. The trees were tall, very tall. It was actually kind of peaceful here. "You sure this is the right way?" I asked. It seems like we have been walking for hours. "Yeah, you hear that thumping sound?" Lust responded. I did hear a thumping sound. It sounded like a heartbeat. We followed the sound deeper and deeper into the forest.

I began to notice a change in the trees. First the bark began to change from dark brown to more of a grayish color. Then the branches lost their leaves. Eventually the knotholes in the trunks began to resemble faces, and the limbs looked like arms. "These trees aren't going to do what I think they are…are they?" I asked. "Yeah, they are." Lust said, still calmly walking forward. I then noticed fleshy growths on the trees and ground. The others began running without warning. The trees began grabbing for them desperately. I flew knowing there was no way for me to keep up with them on foot. Lust nimbly dodged the grasping branches with an uncanny agility I'm sure Terra doesn't really posses. Weed actually jumped into the trees, leaping from branch to branch. Apparently the trees had a difficult time trying to grab something close to their trunk that was above ground level. Anger just plowed right through. I had to blast and dodge to prevent myself from being captured.

I heard screams as we neared the source of the heartbeats. A giant black heart was positioned between two huge trees. It looked like the blood vessels went into the trees and ground surrounding it. "We have to get inside!" Lust shouted just before being grabbed by the nearest tree. I shot a beam of energy at the branch causing it to snap and splinter. "How?!" I shouted as I dodged the trees' grasping limbs. "We make a door!" Anger responded as he reached the heart. He grabbed one of the veins and forcibly ripped it off the heart. As it beat, opening the newly exposed valve, he jumped inside. The rest of us followed him through the valve.

The inside of the heart was much larger than the outside. It didn't even look like a heart. It was more of a throne room. Again I heard that horrible scream. It came from above us. Suspend by chains was a horribly twisted creature. It was humanoid in shape, but didn't look anything like a human. It didn't appear to have any skin. Its exposed muscles were black as were its eyes. "So…you've finally come." He said smirking. The chains that held him shattered and he fell to the ground in front of us. "What the hell were you doing?" I had to ask. "Removing a weakness." He said, pulling the hooked ends from his flesh. "Shall we begin?" He asked, inviting us to attack.

Anger attacked first. Corruption effortlessly dodged his attacks, but he didn't deliver any of his own. I tried to hold him with my powers to give Anger a chance to hit him, but nothing happened. "This is my realm." He said calmly, dodging another punch from Anger. Corruption grabbed Anger's wrist and pulled it to the side as he pushed downward on his shoulder causing him to fall on his face. He then stomped on the back of his head and kicked him in the side sending him sliding across the ground. Anger came to rest just in front of me. "Your powers don't work here. I won't allow it." He finished his statement with a smirk. "Now, who's next?" He asked.

Anger got up as the other two attacked together. Lust jumped and wrapped her legs around his head and threw her weight backwards effectively throwing Corruption toward Weed. Weed brought his knee up into Corruption's spine as he came down. Corruption did a sort of break dance move, kicking both legs out and spinning pushing Weed away so he could get back to his feet. Anger rushed forward as Corruption regained his balance. Corruption threw his arm toward the rushing emotion and shot a tentacle out of his wrist and into Anger's chest. It seemed to pump something into Anger before retracting back into his wrist.

Anger fell to his knees and began to pale. "What did you just do!?" I asked in shock. "Isn't it obvious?" He responded, cocking his head to the side. Lust ran toward Corruption and began attacking him with a flurry of punches and kicks. None of which actually connected. He ducked under a high kick and grabbed her by the ankle of the foot still on the ground. He pulled, causing her to fall and hit her head on the hard marble floor. He then threw her into the air. Chains shot out of the walls and ceiling impaling her limbs and torso. They then retracted ripping her apart. "My, my, you aren't doing so well." He taunted. Anger climbed back to his feet and turned toward me. His eyes were as black as Corruption's. Weed rushed forward but began to hack and cough. "Ah, looks like your demon friend is coming down."Corruption laughed as Weed disappeared in a puff of smoke. Anger and Corruption began to laugh together. I didn't know how I was going to fight them. Sure I know a few moves, but nothing that would even come close to hurting them.

I turned to run for the valve to escape but Anger grabbed me from behind and threw me to the ground. As I tried to get up he grabbed my left wrist and wrapped his arm around my neck. He grabbed my right wrist and forced it behind my back as he lifted me off the ground. I struggled to escape, but he was too strong. Corruption slowly extended one of his tentacles toward me the hollow spike on the tip just inches from my face. He gently brushed a few strands of hair out of my face with it. "Sure I could just simply corrupt you right now, but where is the fun in that?" He asked as he slowly walked toward me.

"Do you know what is about to happen?" He asked. Another tentacle slid out of his left wrist as the right tentacle lightly traced a path down my body. My eyes opened wide as I realized what he was planning. "No." I pleaded. "Oh yes." He said as both tentacles wrapped around my ankles forcing my legs open. I felt Anger's wings slider under my thighs to give more support. "No!" I shouted as Corruption's dick began to swell. Anger's tail slid under my leotard and over my crotch. It ripped the small patch of fabric away giving his new master access to my virgin hole. I closed my eyes tightly, trying to envision being anywhere but here. But I couldn't. You can't leave your body if you're not actually in your body.

I felt his disgusting member press against my vagina, but it didn't go in. "This is going to hurt." He whispered in my ear. I didn't open my eyes. He grabbed my ass forcefully as he pulled back preparing to thrust into me. Suddenly I heard him shriek in pain and something warm splattered on my chest. I opened my eyes and saw the demon, the real demon, standing behind him with a blade of energy through Corruption's chest. Demon pulled Corruption off of me and threw him across the room.

Anger tossed me to the side at took a step toward his former master. Demon didn't even turn to face him. He just slit his throat. Anger fell to his knees behind him. Demon kicked his right leg backwards knocking Anger's head off. His body didn't even fall. It just sat there on its knees. I couldn't find the strength to stand. I could do nothing but lay there and watch.

"You are so predictable." Corruption said as he climbed to his feet. "I'm going to enjoy killing you." Demon said disgust in his voice. "You still don't get it do you. You can't kill me. All you can do is force me into dormancy for a few days." Corruption said with a laugh. Demon rushed forward blades ready. The action was too fast to follow. They moved in a blur of black and red. Suddenly the blur stopped. Demon was lifted into the air, both tentacles sticking in his torso. "NO!" I shouted. Corruption threw demon across the throne room. He bounced off the living wall and crashed hard into the stone floor. He quickly climbed back to his feet. "You can't corrupt me!" He shouted. "I wasn't trying to." Corruption said before running toward the valve leading into demon's mind. Demon rushed toward him but was too late. Corruption escaped through the heart valve. As soon as he was out the valve closed and the walls turned to stone.

Demon pounded on the valve but to no avail. He attempted to cut through it but his powers had no effect. "Fuck!" He shouted. He turned toward me and his face softened. He walked over to me and offered his hand to help me up. "Are you alright?" He asked. I didn't answer. I attempted to cover my exposed genitals. "It…was a trap?" I asked realizing what had just happened. "Yeah, I knew it was. But I couldn't let him do that to you." He said crouching next to me. "Are you going to be alright?" He asked again. "I…think so." I answered. "What happens now?" I asked. "The others had to leave the tower to deal with a bank robbery. Terra stayed behind to monitor us. We have to trust her to realize I'm not me anymore." He answered. "I have problems with trusting Terra." I admitted.

"I don't." He said. "If he doesn't get the drop on her there is still hope." He informed me. "How?" I asked. We were trapped within his mind with no way out. "Feeding is instinctual. It's like your heart beating. You can't force it to happen it just does, but you can stop it if you try hard enough. Hunger won't be back for another few hours, so if Corruption gets injured he would have to use his own strength to heal himself thus weakening our prison giving us a chance to escape." He said. "If Terra is good for anything it's causing pain." I admitted. "I don't know what she did that was so terrible, but I know she's sorry for it. All we can do now is wait and hope." He said sitting next to me. "Thank you…for stopping Corruption from…" I began but I couldn't bring myself to finish the sentence. "I have a… thing against rape." He said as he put his arm around me. Strangely I found the gesture comforting.

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A/N: So...what did you think? Good? Not good?

I know Weed didn't quite act like you might have expected. I did this for a reason. As he says he's an alteration of Demon's primary personality. And as for Terra having some under her bed...she just strikes me as someone who tokes up, don't really know why.

Corruption is still an evil bastard. He's been torturing himself sense his earlier defeat building his tollerance to pain so he won't be nearly as easy to beat this time.

Hopefully I can have the next chapter up within a month :)


	15. Worst Sin

A/N: Warning, this chapter contains some sexual content. Reader discretion is advised.

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Corruption's POV

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I inhaled deeply. It was good to breath real air again. I know it had only been a few hours since my earlier defeat, but it didn't seem like it. "So, any progress?" Terra asked from somewhere behind me. I kept my eyes closed in case she walked in front of me. My eyes were the only surefire way to tell that it was me and not my goody two shoes counterpart. "There has been some." I answered. "About how much longer will this take?" She asked. "There is no way to tell, time doesn't move there as it does here." I responded. That was true. I was able to get a few months worth of self torture in just a few hours. There was a long pause of silence as I pretended to meditate.

"Want to go smoke another bowl? It could only help right?" She asked. I smiled. "That's a good idea." I said. I stood and followed her into the hall. I was still feeling excited from my attempt to rape Raven. "The others will probably be back soon." She informed me as we entered her room. "Then I should make this quick." I said with a smirk as I closed the door behind me. She crouched to get her stash out from under her bed. When she did her shirt rode up a little in the back revealing her red thong panties. She's practically begging for it.

I silently walked up behind her as she stood, bag and pipe in hand. She turned to say something and gasped as she saw my black, heartless eyes. I quickly grabbed her wrists and threw my weight against her causing her to fall backwards onto her bed with me on top of her. I breathed in her scent as she squirmed. "I'm going to enjoy this." I said with a grin. "Get off me!" She demanded, still struggling to free herself. "That would make it awfully hard to fuck you." I said as I pressed my rapidly hardening cock against her crotch to let her know I was quite serious. Her eyes widened in shock.

She screamed for help. Her futile attempts were enough to make me laugh. "Scream all you want, that just makes it more exciting." I said, my grin widening. I tore her shirt with my wings. I gazed at her small and perky breasts. I bent over and kissed the nape of her neck, savoring the taste of her flesh. She managed to free one of her hands as I straightened back up and punched me in the nose. I stumbled backward at the force of the blow. I was surprised by how much it actually hurt. Apparently I had underestimated her strength. I smiled. "Oh good, foreplay." I said, ignoring the stream of blood traveling down my face.

I advanced on her again as she got to her feet. She rolled away from me as I grabbed at her. I spun on my heels as she ran for the door. I thought she was going to run into the hall so I began to chase her. Instead she jumped toward it and pushed off of the door with her right leg. She spun in the air as she stretched out her other leg and kicked me in the face. I staggered to the left and she landed on all fours. I was really excited. I hadn't expected this much of a fight.

I turned toward her again as she tried to get up, but she was too slow. I kicked her in the ribs causing her to roll over onto her back. I found it odd that I was unable to feed off of the small amount of pain. Oh well, there would be plenty to feed off of soon.

I grabbed her by the throat with my right hand and captured her right arm with my left. I used my wings to help me get between her legs again. "I'm fine with doing it on the floor if that's your preference." I said grinning. She swung at me with her free hand. I leaned backward out of her reach. Doing so allowed her to kick her left leg up and put it over my right shoulder. She grabbed my wrist as she pushed me down with her leg. Suddenly I found myself at her mercy as she twisted my arm and pushed her knee into my elbow. I screamed in pain as she broke my arm. It was only a partial fracture, but it still hurt like hell.

She released me and rolled away. I climbed to my feet as she climbed to hers. We circled each other. Her eyes were filled with a fury that I thought she was incapable of. Someone had trained her well. I used some of my reserve energy to repair the fractured bone. Apparently I would need both my arms to control her. "The harder you fight, the harder I'll fuck." I said. I was looking forward to my eventual victory and the prize I would win.

She rushed forward and pulled her right arm back. I kicked at her chest. She fell backwards, but I didn't feel my foot connect. She caught herself with both her hands and kicked me in the groin before I had a chance to react. I howled in pain and stumbled backward. It felt like my kidneys exploded. I flooded the area with energy easing the pain. "Ah, looks like you couldn't keep it up." She taunted as she got to her feet again. Getting kicked in the balls has a way of doing that.

I took the offensive this time, lunging at her when she expected me to be doubled over in pain. I tackled her and quickly straddled her waist. I began to punch her repeatedly; right, left, right, left. The second punch cut her brow. Blood exploded from her mouth as I caught her in the jaw with the fourth. As I pulled back my right arm for the fifth she kicked her legs up. She managed to slide her legs under my shoulders preventing me from throwing the punch and pushed me backwards. My legs instinctively straightened as I fell. She quickly took advantage of this. Pain shot threw me as she broke my left leg. She climbed to her feet and ran out the door while I was using more of my reserve energy to heal the new fracture. Why wasn't I able to feed?

I climbed to my feet when I was able and ran after her. I couldn't let her call for help. I was hot on her heels as she entered the living room. I tackled her from behind before she could reach her communicator that she had left on the couch. She struggled to get away from me, but I finally had her where I wanted her. I punched her hard in the ribs. She tried to crawl away, but I pulled her back toward me. I put my left hand on the back of her neck and put all of weight on it forcing her face into the carpet. I positioned myself behind her and tore her pants off with my wings, revealing her red thong. I decided to leave it on, I liked how it looked.

"Now, where were we?" I asked rhetorically. "Don't do this." She pleaded. I slid the tip of my tail under the small strip of fabric and into her womanhood. "Ooh, tight." I commented as I tested her waters. "Please, just kill me." She pleaded as tears began to stream down her face. "Ah, you're not a virgin? That's a shame. I was hoping to take your innocence." I pouted as I pushed it in deeper. "Please, just…ah…" She said as I began to wriggle it, stimulating her in ways she couldn't imagine.

I pulled it out and pushed it in again twisting and wriggling it as I did. She began to grow hot and wet as her body betrayed her. I wanted a little lubrication for the main event. I grinned as I freed my rock hard cock from its prison of blood stained cloth. She gripped the carped and moaned as my tail sent unwanted waves of pleasure through her. "Ah…please…stop…" She pleaded, though her voice didn't sound like she meant it. "Stop? But I'm just getting started." I said grinning.

I pulled my tail from her and immediately thrust my anxious member into her now soaking hole. She gritted her teeth in pain as its thickness penetrated her. She may not have been a virgin, but she was still very tight. I kept my promise to her. I thrust in and out of her relentlessly. It wasn't long before her grunts of pain became moans of pleasure. I dug the claw like tips of gauntlet's fingers into her skin and raked down her back, balancing my growing pleasure with her pain. They weren't quite sharp enough to penetrate the skin, but they left behind some nasty scrapes. I still wasn't able to feed and it angered me. I began to scratch at her haunches with my wings, taking it out on her. The pain seemed to intensify her pleasure.

I placed both my hands on her shoulders for better leverage and thrust into her even harder. She began to moan loudly as she neared climax. Tears were falling from her eyes is constant streams. I could only imagine what was going through her head. She was probably questioning every facet of her being. How dare she enjoy this? How could such a violent act excite her so?

I rolled my head back as my own orgasm approached. She screamed in pleasure as my relentless attention pushed her over the edge. Her vaginal muscles contracted in orgasm. The vice like tightness was too much. I couldn't hold out any longer. I grunted loudly as I released years of pent up sexual tension into her, filling her with the demon's seed. The short but intense wave of pleasure that washed over me was unlike anything I had experienced before. It was as though I was frozen in heaven for but a brief moment.

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Raven's POV

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The first signs that a fight had begun was when the Demon's nose began to bleed. "Huh, I guess he couldn't completely sever my connection with my body." He said as he whipped the blood from his face. "Can we use that?" I asked. "I don't know, mayb…" He tried to respond, but he was cut off suddenly as he stumbled to his left looking like he just got kicked in the face. "Ok, that one kind of hurt." He said as he straightened back up. "What just happened?" I asked. "I don't know but I think Terra's winning." He said as he wiped the new blood from his face. He suddenly screamed in pain and clutched his right arm. "Good girl…don't be afraid to hurt me…" He said after a moment. I looked at him in confusion. "She just broke my arm." He clarified as he lifted his right arm and flexed his hand. "And corruption just healed it." He informed me with a smile.

After a moment he screamed in pain again and doubled over grabbing his crotch. "Ok…I could do without that..." He said. His voice was slightly higher in pitch. It didn't take a genius to know he was kicked in the groin. "I think she popped one…" He said, his face still contorted in pain. He straightened up as corruption healed the new injury. "If she keeps this up we'll be out of here in no time." He said. "Are you sure you can take the pain?" I asked, knowing all too well he could take whatever she threw at him. "Don't worry abou…" He fell over clutching his left leg as he spoke. "She just broke my leg." He informed me of his new injury.

The walls seemed to change a bit as his leg healed. I ran to the valve leading to his mindscape and tried to force it open, but Corruption's defenses weren't weak enough yet. The demon climbed back to his feet whenever he was able. He walked over to assist me with prying open the heart valve. "Damn, he's still not weak enough." He said after a moment of struggling to force it open.

"I guess we keep waiting." I said as I leaned against the wall. "I guess so." He agreed. We sat in silence for a while. The demon kept playing with his tail for some reason. "What are you doing?" I asked. "My tail feels weird, I have no idea why." He explained as he continued to analyze it. His face seemed to grow distant and his breathing began to get heavy. "What's wrong?" I asked. He resumed his attempts to force the valve open with newfound ferocity. "He's raping her." He said as he struggled against the petrified valve.

He couldn't keep up the struggle for long. He took a step back as he began to moan in pleasure. "Ah…it…it feels so good…" He said as he began to hump the air like a horny dog. He backed up and turned away from me, apparently trying to keep himself under control. "…so…tight…" He said as his head rolled backwards. His eyes didn't seem to focus on anything. "You…might have…have a…chance…when…" He struggled to speak as his excitement climbed. The walls of the living throne room began to shutter as he neared climax.

I pushed at the heart valve as he grunted in pleasure. The valve opened and I dove through. It closed tight behind me and sealed itself shut again. Apparently the demon had done some pruning when he came to save me from Terra's fate. None of the living trees had any branches left to grasp at me with. This made the return trip much easier. I raced through the forest as fast as I could. Corruption wouldn't bask in the afterglow for long. I had to get back to my body before he killed her, though at this point she probably wanted to die.

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A/N: The rape scene in this chapter was specifically asked for by one of my few faithful reviewers. Because I like reading reviews so much I decided to give him what he asked for. Moral of the story? Leave a damned review!

Besides, it gave me some good ideas for some inner turmoil for the Demon. Then of course there is corruption's punishment to look forward to...


	16. Power of Anger

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Raven's POV

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My eyes snapped open. I was back in the tower again. I could hear weeping from somewhere in the room. It didn't take long to find the source. Terra was pinned beneath the Demon, his sperm leaking out of her and running down her thighs. "Now, how would you like to die?" He asked. Terra didn't answer, she just kept sobbing. "My choice then…good." He said. Anger and disgust began to fill me. I focused on the memory of his attempt to rape me, strengthening these feelings. I screamed in rage as I sent a claw of energy out toward him. He turned just in time to see the claw wrap around his face.

I lifted him off of Terra by his head and slammed him against the cold metal ground. I lifted him again and threw him against a wall with enough force to cause it to dent. I held him there and sent out four tentacles, each tipped with a blade. I drove two of them into his knees, and the other two into his shoulders. I twisted them separating the joints, causing him to cry out in pain. It was music to my ears.

I threw him across the room, releasing him from my grasp. I found it amusing how he bounced and rolled on the metal floor. "Get up!" I shouted as I approached him. He seemed to be struggling to heal his new injuries. "Anything you do to me, you do to him!" He reminded me. "I don't really give a fuck." I said as I lifted him off the ground with my powers again. I grabbed both his wings with claws of energy and ripped them off. His screams echoed through the tower again. I tossed him out the broken window he and Beast boy had fallen through during their fight. Without his wings he would have no way to save himself from the rocks below.

I looked over at Terra and felt nothing but distain for her weakness. "Get yourself cleaned up, slut." I spat bitterly before I walked over to the broken window. I peered down at the Demon's twisted, broken body. I descended slowly. As I approached the ground I realized he was still breathing, barely. I wrapped a tentacle of energy around his left ankle and lifted him up so our eyes were level. He screamed as I did. Every bone in that particular leg was broken. I peered into his black, soulless eyes. I was searching for fear, regret, anything. All I saw was nothing. He actually grinned at me. "Now you're acting like a proper demon." He said. He started to laugh but stopped when he started coughing up blood.

I threw him toward the water. He landed just in front of the shoreline. I wrapped a claw of energy around his throat and dragged him across the ground until his head was submerged. There were no bubbles. He must have been holding his breath. I twisted his left ankle again, causing him to scream, releasing all of the air in his lungs. I held him there for a moment, and then lifted him out of the water. I threw him against the tower. I love how he bounces of things. "Any last words?" I asked as I walked toward him.

He looked up at me. His eyes were no longer black, no longer so heartless. They were full of regret. "Good…girl…" The demon said, gasping for air. "Now…finish me…" He pleaded. All of my anger seemed to melt away in an instant. Suddenly I felt sorry for him, for what I had just done to him. "Please…" He pleaded. "I…can't." I said. "Send…me back…to…hell…" He said in a wheezing voice. He began to spit up more blood. "It's…where…I belong…" He said before finally falling unconscious.

I lifted him gently with my powers and brought him to the infirmary. I strapped him down to a bed and hooked him up to various life support systems. It was difficult to believe that I was capable of something like that. I had tortured somebody within an inch of his life, most likely permanently crippled him. Worse than that, I had enjoyed it. I've never felt so powerful before. It scared me. Was I really becoming like him? "It was necessary. Nothing else would have stopped him." I reminded myself. _"Was what you said to Terra necessary?"_ a voice in the back of my mind asked. It was right, I had to apologize.

As I walked past the bathroom I heard the shower running, and Terra sobbing. I knocked lightly on the door. "Terra, I wanted to apologize for what I said earlier…I…You didn't deserve it. None of this was your fault." I said through the door. "Go away!" She shouted. "I'm sorry." I said through the door again and left her alone. I sat on the couch and held my head in my hands. I couldn't believe how much had happened today. I kept running the events over in my mind. It's too much to handle in one day.

I sighed and leaned my head back. I noticed three large gashes in the ceiling. "When did that happen?" I asked myself. "It must have been when I was fighting Corruption." I answered myself. The door opened and the other Titans walked in bragging about how they kicked the crap out of whoever was robbing the bank. Beast boy noticed me sitting on the couch and spoke to me first. "Hey, so…how did the exorcism go?" He asked smiling. It quickly faded when he noticed the look on my face. "What happened?" Robin asked. "It's a long story." I said. I didn't want to tell them about what happened to Terra. "Did you at least win?" Cyborg asked. "I can't call it a victory." I answered. I led them to the infirmary to see my handy work.

They all gasped when they saw the condition the Demon was in. "What happened?" Starfire asked. "I…I did that." I answered, hanging my head in shame. "Why would you do such a terrible thing?" She asked. "Corruption had taken control again…and…he hurt Terra." I answered. "What!?" Beast boy asked, outraged. "What did he do to Terra?" He asked angrily. "You don't want to know." I answered. "Yes I do! I have a right to know what that sick son of a bitch did to her!" He yelled at me. I got angry. I didn't like being yelled at, especially when I was trying to protect someone. "Back off!" I shouted at pushed him away with a claw of energy. I quickly got myself back under control. "I'm sorry. Today has been… very stressful." I said as he looked at me in shock. "I'll be in my room trying to meditate." I informed them.

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Demon's POV

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I opened my eyes and quickly shut them again. The light from the ceiling was blinding. I opened them slowly this time, allowing them to adjust. "Finally awake?" I heard Raven's voice ask. I looked around briefly, seeing she was the only one in the room with me. She did not kill me after all. Why? I had not only given her the perfect reason, but also permission. My stomach lurched violently. My hunger was back and in full force.

"How long was I out?" I asked. "A long time, it's already nine o clock." She informed me. "At night?" I asked for clarification. "Yeah." She responded. She sat in silence for a moment, not knowing what else to say. "Terra wants to talk to you, I'll tell her you're awake." She said finally and left to retrieve the young blond.

I ran through the events of the past day. I realized that I was responsible for all of it, Beast boy getting hurt, those innocent people being murdered, Terra being raped. It was all my fault. _"So nice of you to finally admit it."_ Corruption's voice echoed in my head. "Shut up." I said weakly. There was a moment of silence, but sadly, it did not last long. _"You enjoyed raping Terra didn't you?"_ He asked. I could feel him grinning. "I said shut the fuck up!" I yelled as my anger began to boil.

Raven walked in with Terra behind her. My anger reached new heights. I had trusted Terra to stop corruption if he took control. I thought she was strong enough to do what was necessary. She started to cross the room. "I…I wanted you to know that I don't blame…" she began. "You failed me Terra." I interrupted her. She stopped in her tracks, a look of horror on her face. "I counted on you to stop him if he took control! How could you let yourself be beaten like that?!" I yelled. "I...I…" She started to respond. "I should have known you were too weak…too afraid to do what was necessary." I spat. She stood there for a moment. "How can you say that after what happened to me?!" She asked. "If you weren't so damned weak it wouldn't have happened!" I shouted. Her eyes began to well up and she ran out of the room.

Raven just looked at me in surprise. "Quit staring and undo these straps." I demanded. "No." She said as she started walking toward me. "No? Why the fuck not?!" I asked. "You need to calm down." She said raising her hands and holding them out in a submissive posture. "Don't tell me to calm down you little bi…" I started but she interrupted me. "Listen to yourself!" She shouted. "You're yelling at Terra because YOU raped her, and yelling at me for speaking." I gritted my teeth as she spoke. "Shut up!" I shouted as I sent a blade of energy toward her. It struck her above the left knee causing her to shriek in pain and fall backwards.

That instant I realized she was right. Something was wrong with me. I had to calm down. I closed my eyes and attempted to force my emotions away. I could hear corruption laughing hysterically. His laughter made it all the more difficult. _"I would have aimed a bit higher, and a little to the left." _He said, apparently aiming for the stomach. I ignored him as I struggled to calm myself. Eventually I was able to calm myself using various breathing exercises. "What's happening to me?" I asked as anger gave way to uncertainty and fear.

"That parasite took control of your anger." She reminded me as she repaired her leg with her own healing powers. Images of their attempt to rape her flashed in my mind. I closed my eyes and pushed my head back into my pillow. _"I really must thank you. If you hadn't been so eager to remove me I would not have had such a rewarding opportunity."_ Corruption said. The worst part was that he was right. If I had simply left him alone he would have had to wait for another opportunity to take control, instead I gave him far more by trying to get rid of him. "I have to apologize to Terra." I said as my eyes snapped open.

"She was trying to tell me something important and I berated her." I said. "I saw." Raven said as she climbed back to her feet. _"Now what makes you think she will listen after what you said?"_ He asked. "Shut the fuck up!" I shouted at him, my anger rising again. He began to laugh. _"Temper temper…" _He said. I forced my emotions back realizing what he was trying to do. Raven just stared at me confused. "I can hear him…talking to me." I explained. "That isn't good." She said. "What am I going to do?" I asked closing my eyes. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes while she thought. "You were teaching me to express my emotions. I could teach you how to suppress yours." She said opening her eyes. _"It won't help. No matter how hard you try you can't escape me."_ Corruption said. "I hope it works." I said.

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A/N: Right, I don't really know what else to say about this chapter. Raven explores the true power of her emotions and Corruption has managed to enter Demon's core personality.

As always, reviews would be greatly apreciated.


	17. Punishment

A/N: I know it's been forever since I last updated this fic. That is not from the lack of trying however. I wound up writing this chapter like ten different times, but everytime I seemed to be making progress something would happen that would result in me loosing all my hard work. (I suck at backing things up.) Eventually I just lost the will to continue. About a week ago I had a sudden artistic spurt and figured, what the hell, might as well try again.

So here it is, for those of you who still care.

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Raven's POV

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As I left my room with an arm full of books about meditation techniques and the human mind I almost ran right into Robin. "Excuse me." I said out of habit as I attempted to move around him but he moved to block me again. "We have to talk." He said authoritatively. "Can it wait?" I asked as I pushed past him, not really caring what his answer was.

My path was suddenly blocked by a huge green hippo that seemed to appear out of nowhere. "No...it can't." Robin said bluntly. You didn't need to be an empath to know that he was deadly serious. "Fine..." I said after a heavy sigh.

Beastboy changed into his normal form and they lead me to the living room where the others were waiting. "What is this, an intervention?" I asked half jokingly. The tension in the air was so thick it was almost choking me. "Kind of..." Cyborg said before falling silent again.

It was some time before some one spoke again, they all seemed to be thinking carefully on what they would say. "You can put those down." Robin said, motioning toward the books in my arms. I set them on the coffee table and sat down on the couch, I could tell this was going to take a while.

"You've been acting weird lately..." Robin said when I was seated. "Yeah? Well, thing's haven't exactly been normal lately have they?" I asked sarcastically in response. "No, I guess they haven't." He admitted with a sigh. "We have to do something about that Demon." He said matter of factly. I responded by giving him a questioning look. "He kills people Raven, we can't just look the other way. He has to be dealt with...before someone else gets hurt." He continued.

"I can't just abandon him." I objected. He seemed to be expecting this response. "I know you're scared of your father, but you're letting that fear cloud your judgment." He responded. I can't deny that there was some truth to that statement. "It's not about that..." I began, expecting someone to cut me off, but they all just looked at me expectantly. So I continued, "He really is trying to be good, he doesn't want to become a senseless monster...how can I call myself a hero if I turn my back on the person who needs me the most?"

"How can you call that thing a person!?" Beastboy yelled suddenly, "After what he's done to me?... after what he's done to Terra?" Cyborg tried to calm his friend, "Dude, we don't even know what he did to Terra." Beastboy responded with a look of fury I didn't think his face was capable of making. "Oh I know exactly what he did..." He turned that look on me next, and it sent chills down my spine, but he said nothing further. He stormed out of the room shortly after, leaving me with a strange empty feeling in the pit of my stomach. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. Just as I was about to break down I felt a strong, but soft arm wrap around my shoulder. I turned to see Starfire's emerald green eyes. "I'm so sorry..." Was all I was able to say before the tears began flowing.

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Demon's POV

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I don't know what was taking Raven so long. Despite my injuries I was pacing around the infirmary, each step sent a bolt of pain up my leg. I focused on the pain as a way of ignoring Corruption's mocking words. It worked well enough. It wasn't long before he just stopped trying.

A few minutes after the parasite quit talking I limped over to the large window and looked out over the city. I had hoped that the beautiful view would help ease my mind, but it didn't. I'm not sure if it was my own self imposed guilt, or if it was Corruption fucking with my head, but all I could imagine as I looked out over the city was blood and flames. I could almost hear the screams of it's citizens. The thought made my hunger that much stronger.

The door opened behind me, but I knew it wasn't Raven with those books. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you..." Said the green changeling as he entered the room. "It's not within your ability..." I responded without looking at him. _"Well said."_ Corruption stated.

Honestly I wished he would kill me. He was well within his rights to do so and if I was back in hell I wouldn't have to worry about hurting anyone else. I turned around to face him, trying my best to hide my feelings of self loathing and sorrow, adopting a cocky smile instead. "You're welcome to try though." I said as I raised my arms in a gesture inviting his attack. I'm not entirely sure why I did that. It could be because I hoped he could kill me, or I was just looking for an excuse to feed. Either way, he didn't attack me. He just stood there.

"I don't understand what Raven sees in you." He said bitterly. "All I see is a monster feasting on the misery of others." That was a pretty accurate description of me. "I'm not buying this 'mental parasite' bull shit. You may have her fooled, but you won't fool me." I sighed. "I'm not fooling anyone...I don't want to be what I am...but I am...I don't want to enjoy slaughtering people...but I do...The question is not what am I? Or what do I want to be? But rather, What are you?" I began as I started walking toward him. "Are you a killer? Can you take someone else's life into your hands and crush it out of existence? Can you kill me without first killing a part of yourself?" I asked, coming to a stop in front of him. I already knew the answers to my questions, but they needed to be asked. "...n...no..." Beastboy said after a pause. "Then why are you here? Why do you stand here looking death in the face?" I asked. The second question wasn't metaphorical either. I was VERY hungry, and he was well within striking distance now. In my current state all I needed was an excuse.

"I wanted to see if you had any remorse for raping my girlfriend." He said coldly. "Remorse...sorrow...anger...fear...that's about all I really can feel." I said honestly. "I've heard your manic laughter as you slaughtered those cultists, you can't tell me you didn't get some joy out of that..." He said accusingly. "Honestly...I don't enjoy it nearly as much as you think...the only satisfaction I really get is sustenance." I said as I dropped the cocky demeanor and limped toward a bed. I decided I should be relieved he wasn't looking for a fight. Corruption said nothing, but I could feel his agitation, which concerned me. It meant our connection was stronger than I had thought.

"Do you know where Raven went?" I asked, hoping she would just walk in. "She's talking to the others...about you. We're trying to figure out the best way to deal with you." He said. _"They're deciding your fate and they don't even invite you...how rude..."_ Corruption responded. "I agree, that is rude." I said as I stood up. Beastboy gave me a strange look, not being able to hear Corruption I'm sure I looked quite strange.

I pushed past him. Surprisingly he didn't really try to stop me. I paused for a moment in front of Terra's door. "She wont come out, don't bother." Beastboy said angrily behind me. I hit the door with my fist to get her attention. "Come decide my punishment." I said, before continuing toward the living room.

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Raven's POV

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After I was able to compose myself again our little discussion continued. I could sense that Robin didn't really believe that Corruption and the Demon were two separate entities. So I told them most of what happened within the Demon's mind. How I was used as bait to trap him within his own consciousness so Corruption could have full control over his body.

"If I was the one being controlled like that, what would you do?" I asked, looking at Robin seriously. "Everything we could." He answered. "Exactly...why doesn't he deserve the same?" I asked. "Because, he's done nothing but kill since he got here." Robin responded.

"I saved your asses didn't I?" The Demon's voice asked from the door. "If it weren't for me, that spider would have killed you, and countless others. The entire city would likely be in ruins by now if it weren't for me. Oh, and let's not forget me kicking Slade's ass for you...or getting rid of those cultists..." He said as he crossed the room. "Don't try to play yourself off as a hero." Robin snapped back, "No one asked for your help." I decided to stay quiet. Now that the Demon was here to defend himself he didn't need me to do it.

"Should a hero need to be asked?" Demon responded. He was picking his words carefully, trying to get under Robin's skin, but I don't know why. Robin said nothing, he just glared at the Demon. "You find it so easy to label me, but you don't even know me..." Demon protested. "I know enough." Robin said coldly. "Do you? And what do you know?" Demon asked.

"I know you kill people, and that you enjoy it." Robin responded. "I do not, you just don't understand the difference." Demon spat back. "Difference in what? You were laughing your ass off as you slaughtered those cultists." Robin reminded him. "That's because it tickled." Demon responded. No one in the room expected that answer. "Either way, whether or not I enjoy killing is entirely beside the point. I need..." Demon began but Robin cut him off with, "You feed off pain, do you really need to kill people?"

The Demon opened his mouth to speak, but seemed to change his mind about what exactly he wanted to say. "Wait...why?" He asked turning his head slightly, apparently in response to something Corruption said. Robin raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Ok..." He said as he turned his attention to Robin again a few moments latter and relayed the information he just received. "Apparently I do. You see, without a soul I'm constantly losing energy...as you already know. When I feed off pain I recharge and heal, but when the pain is gone that energy quickly evaporates again and my body starts to decay. However, when people die, their souls leave their bodies. Feeding off of the energy created in such an event basically patches up the holes, greatly diminishing the rate of decay temporarily...so either I need to constantly torture something, or I can kill someone and last all day."

After a moment to digest the information Cyborg spoke. "That still doesn't excuse your behavior." He said. "Maybe not, but the fact that I target the criminals of the city to feed myself does." Demon responded. "No it doesn't." Robin argued. "Difference of opinion and nothing more." Demon said, dismissing Robin's argument with a wave of his hand.

"You do not feel you deserve punishment?" Starfire asked sounding a little confused. "I didn't say that." Demon responded. "Then what are you saying?" Beastboy asked annoyed. "He's saying it's not your choice to make." Terra said as she entered the room. She was wearing her hair differently. It draped down, covering one of her eyes...much like how she wore it when she was in the service of Slade. Everyone in the room except the Demon looked at her in surprise. They had all tried multiple times to get her out of her room with no success.

"What do you mean?" Beastboy asked, the angry tone in his voice all but gone. "What has he really done to any of you? Nothing." She said. "Hey, that's not true he..." Beastboy began but Terra cut him off with, "Defended himself...you can't kick a tiger and then get angry when it mauls you." I found the tone of her voice disturbing. It wasn't angry, or sad...or scared...it wasn't anything...it just was.

"And besides...what would you do anyway? Send him to prison?" She asked Robin mockingly. "He doesn't deserve any less." Robin said now clearly annoyed at how things were turning out. He was losing control of the situation and it bothered him. "That's exactly the point. One punishment does not fit all." She said a smile crossing her face as she turned to face the Demon.

As she walked toward him her body language confused me. I would have expected her to show anger toward him, especially considering the things he said when she tried to talk to him earlier. Instead she swayed her hips sensually and gave him a look that unmistakably read, 'fuck me'. When she got to him she reached up and lightly caressed his cheek before wrapping her arms around him and began kissing his neck. "What the hell are you doing!?" Beastboy asked angrily. Cyborg had to move to intercept him before he did something stupid again.

When I looked back at the Demon and Terra I saw sand pouring out of her gloves and collecting in a cloud behind him, and her actions suddenly made sense.

--

Corruption's POV

--

_"I told you she liked it."_ I said mockingly within my host's mind as he noticed her body language. As the dirty thoughts began fluttering through his mind I could feel my power over him grow. He tried to stop them, he tried to bury them like he always had. But I wouldn't allow it. Lust was mine now, and it wouldn't back down just because he wanted it to.

As she caressed our cheek she smiled sweetly. That smile alone was enough to make him weak in the knees...and cloud his mind. When she began kissing our neck there was nothing more he could do to resist. I was able to push my way to the surface of his mind and assume control again. A wicked smile crossed my face as I wrapped my arms around her, grabbing her ass.

Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my lower back. My legs went limp as my lower spine was pierced. At that exact moment she pushed me away, causing me to land on my back in front of her. "What the fuck?" I asked as I attempted to move my legs, but couldn't. I looked up at Terra and saw the cloud of sand swirling in the air. It condensed itself down into two fairly large shards of sandstone. "Oh...That's a cheap trick." I said as I realized what had happened. She wanted to be sure that I felt whatever it was she was going to do. So she played on the fact that I controlled Demon's lust, and basically forced me to the surface.

I tried to roll over onto my stomach and crawl away, but when I did a sharp, burning pain shot up my spine. I focused on my rising anger to push my way through the pain. Before I could actually do anything however Terra launched the two newly formed shards into my arms just above my elbows. She then forced them down into the bones of my forearms. Oh it hurt like all hell, but still I smiled. I had not thought her capable of such a thing.

Using her powers she lifted me off the ground by the rocks in my arms. Because my body was so weak there really wasn't much I could do but dangle there in the air, as though I was suspended by chains. "So...this is my punishment?" I asked, forcing a smile across my face. "Just hanging around?"

"No...your punishment is starvation. I just had to be sure you would cooperate." She said, smiling evilly. The others didn't seem to disagree with her choice very much, as they made no move to stop her as she dragged me back to the room they had given my host. She opened the large door and literally threw me in. I collided painfully with the far wall before falling to the ground. I looked up at her angrily. "I'll enjoy killing you." I said. "I'm sure you will." She responded with a smile as she closed the door, leaving me in total darkness.

--

A/N: So in conclusion...Titan's are fed up, and Terra gets some pay back...

I know there really wasn't much action in this chapter, but I promise to make it up to you in the next chapter. I'll also try to explain exactly what the deal with the demon hunters is as well.


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